Batman: Protocol Blood Moon
by Chewbaxter
Summary: When an explosion at Wayne Manor kills both Bruce and Damian Wayne during the daytime, Jason Todd is forced to retire his role as the Red Hood to replace the Batman. With the majority of the Batcave gone and his allies limited because of the explosion, Jason must put aside his differing ideology and become the Hero his true Father wanted him to be.
1. The Final Night

Chapter One: The Final Night.

Patrol duty in Gotham sucked. Especially when Jason could be at a party with the cities richest all in one spot and had a rare opportunity to show his actual face. He even argued to Bruce that he didn't have to be directly linked to him, just a "friend" of Dick's or Tim's. But even they wouldn't defend him - which was expected since he was the Black Sheep.  
Oh well, it was a nice evening to go for a bike ride.  
The key word being WAS. Because this was the Final Night Jason would ever call himself Red Hood. The final night that Bruce Wayne would ever be alive.

The patrol started out like any other when Red Hood was out on the streets. Petty crimes were more likely to happen than actual Villains like the Joker or Penguin; not because he was feared by them, but because their lackeys know that going up against him would mean death, or being mortally wounded. There wasn't much point in doing a job when the Bat's only gunman is in the area. So Jason stuck to the petty crimes, stopping thugs from attacking people leaving work, thievery, shit like that. He was used to the minor tasks but irritated that there was nothing proper to do so he could get to actually use his pistols. Just walking up to guys, saying "Hey! You there!", then flashing his pistol, wasn't as fun as actually shooting someone who deserves it. But that was his ruling, and he had to stick by it.

As Jason got back on his motorbike after stopping the same guy attempting to attack women twice in a row, he heard multiple sirens blaring close by. Had something gone down? Sure enough, a black van suddenly drifted onto the road he was parked at the side of. Its doors were open and had two guys firing machine pistols at the cop cars following behind in pursuit. Jason smiled to himself as he revved up his bike. This was what he needed tonight.

Jason rode out to catch up with the van, weaving in and out of the cops where he could. He noticed Jim Gordon in one of the cars at the front, waving at him before going on ahead.

"Red Hood! Get outta here! This isn't your business!" Gordon's voice rang out on the speaker atop his car. Jason ignored it, pulling out his pistol and readying it as the bullets from the van started firing at him.

"Fuck off!" One of the shooters cried as he finished reloading and started firing again. Jason rolled his eyes under his helmet, dodging most of the fire and lining up his own pistol to fire back. First shot; missed. Second shot; hit him in the leg, made him drop the weapon. Third shot; hit the other shooter in the arm, doing the same. The same guy tried to close one of the van doors for their protection, but Jason had done enough. He took his fourth shot at the left back wheel; it hit but didn't burst. Tried again, the same situation. Bulletproof wheels? No, it was just at a bad angle. He tried again, aiming for the road. The bullet ricocheted off the tarmac and dug in, making the tire burst. He repeated it with his sixth shot on the back right wheel with the same result.

Bingo.

The van started to spin out of control, its driver seemingly unaware of who was chasing him. Jason slowed down at this point, letting it crash into the street. The GCPD cars surrounded the vehicle, but also surrounded him.

"Freeze!"

"Don't move!"

"Stay right the fuck there!"

Three cops had their pistols aimed right at Jason instead of the guys at the van, who were getting the same treatment. All he could do was raise his hands above his head.

"Hey guys, I helped you out tonight! Should I get let off the hook, even just for tonight?" Jason joked, putting his pistol back in its holster where it belonged. None of them moved or found it funny. "No? Okay fine, I'll wait with Gordon until Bats comes to pick me up."

"Not this time, Hood," Gordon's voice replied suddenly, the middle-aged man approaching him, nodding at the three to stand at ease for now.  
"You shot two of those men and now they're in shock." Jason winced as he heard that, having made that same mistake in the past. Gordon continued.  
"We have to take them to the hospital instead of straight back to the station. That means you're coming down with the three we _can_ interview."

Jason snorted through his helmet and asked "Why? You want me to replace him for the Bad Cop?" The Commissioner shrugged.

"I suppose you could call it that. If Batman trusts you to help us then you're in on this case. But no more shooting unless it's necessary, got it?" Gordon ordered, one of the cops scowling at this sudden idea.

"You're not a cop, but you stick to our rules."

"All due respect sir, but this guy belongs in a cell with the rest of them!" The same cop complained suddenly. He was Hispanic, Mexican specifically. He was wearing a cross around his neck, but also had one stitched into his uniform, next to his badge. Jason couldn't see his name but it was obvious he was a devout Christian. Gordon sighed - clearly he's had an issue with this guy's attitude before.

"Relax, Corporal. He's been working with the Batman. I don't trust him, but he'll play ball." Jason piped up at this point.

"I'm right here you know? Are we gonna get going or what?" Gordon looked back at him and nodded, heading back to his car to lead the drive back to Gotham station. The three remaining members that were in the van were struggling as they were being forced into separate cars. Before one was pushed in, he shouted out something.

"DEUS VULT ILLUD!"

Then it happened.

Wayne Manor could be seen atop the large hill it sat on just outside the city. And as the man shouted those three words, the whole house burst into flames. And all Jason could do was watch it burn. Just like before all those years ago. There was nothing he could do.


	2. Picking Up the Pieces

Chapter Two: Picking up the pieces.

"Calling all GCPD units! Major explosion and fire at Wayne Manor! Converge on Wayne Manor! Repeat! Converge on Wayne Manor! Look for survivors!"

That was Gordon's first reaction after a minute of pure silence fell over the crowd of police. Jason's was much simpler. He started up the engines, turned his bike around to Wayne Manor and rode on alone. He had to know what the fuck just happened and he couldn't wait for anyone else. He tried communicating with anyone in the Batcave.

"HELLO? IS ANYONE THERE?! Bruce, Dick, Barbara, Tim, Alfred; anyone?! This is Red Hood! Please respond!"

Nothing. But that wouldn't discourage him. He had to know what happened. He had to know who did this. He had to know who was still alive.

As he arrived at the gates, Jason jumped off of his bike and landed in a combat roll, getting up quickly and rushing into the now burning entrance.

"Bruce! Bruce!"  
He called out, as he knew that Bruce could take an explosion this big. The man's endurance was legendary. And he couldn't lose him again.

"Bruce! Alfred! Dick?" As Jason went further into the burning house, the chances of anyone surviving thinned out completely. Bodies of the guests at Bruce's party were everywhere, some burnt, some killed with debris. There were some survivors panicking with little clue of what to do. Jason did his best to help them get out, breaking down doors and showing a clear path out, staying to find anyone else. He heard a familiar groaning, younger than his, possibly the voice of a child?

"Damian?!" Jason shouted out loud.

"Jason!" The voice weakly moaned. Jason's eyes widened. It wasn't Damian, but Tim! Jason saw him now, his right leg was twisted outwards; broken probably in the explosion. He was also sweating profusely bleeding from the mouth, and was gripping his left shoulder - mostly likely also broken. Jason rushed to his friend and brother's aid. All of their rivalry that had grown through the years was being thrown out of the window. Right now, nothing else mattered. Tim coughed and sputtered as Jason reached him.

"What… What happened?" He asked, looking on the verge of tears.

"I don't know, I just saw the explosion! Where's everyone else?"

"Bruce and Damian are dead!" Tim's voice cracked another coughing spurt putting him into tears. He was in shock. His adrenaline had probably been and gone by now. But Jason's was still there, and he had to get his brother out. No time to waste mourning just yet.

"We're getting out of here, now!" Jason said as he started to pick Tim up, who was now starting to sob. He didn't blame him, he was heavily wounded and in a traumatic experience. But they need to get out soon or they'd both be dead. Once he had Tim's good arm wrapped around his shoulder, Jason slowly but surely made his way to the exit, following the same path he took to get inside earlier. The heat of the fire was so intense Jason took a moment to take his helmet off. He had plenty of others, and he needed to breathe proper air once they were outside.

But they made it.

Cop cars, ambulances and Firetrucks surrounded what was left of the front of Wayne Manor, the few people who survived and got out slowly recovering, some taking questions, others being checked up by doctors, covered in trauma blankets. As Jason and Tim exited the burning house, someone screamed "We got another one!" from the side, two medics rushing up to take Tim away from Jason. He was screaming out all of his thoughts at once, looking back at their home with sadness as the flames began to disperse thanks to the fire department.

"NOO! BRUCE! ALFRED! DIICK! WHY?"  
Jason didn't follow the medics. His body was stuck in a mental limbo as he properly processed the reality of the situation. Bruce - The Batman, was dead. The mission he had created all those years ago was in flux now. Even if Damian - Robin - had survived, he still would have been too young and reckless to be the next-in-line. Dick Grayson - the only other man that had taken up the mantle - was missing, possibly dead too. And Tim… Tim looked like he wouldn't walk again, let alone swing from one of the buildings dressed around as a Bat. So the question remained…

What the hell was going to happen next?

Once Gotham's Fire Department had finished extinguishing what remained of Wayne Manor, Jason and Tim had already left the scene in one of the many ambulances going to Gotham Central Hospital. Once they - albeit barely - secured a room, Tim started going over what happened.

"Bruce had just finished making his first toast of the night after all of the guests had arrived. He thanked the biggest backers of the charity event and gave some details around where all of their money was going to, reminding why it was a great cause, the usual stuff."

The party was a charity event for finding, educating and rehabilitating super-powered individuals of all types. Kids abandoned by scared parents, teenagers pressured into using them in illegal ways and adults who use them for criminal intent. For Bruce Wayne, it was a noble cause that showed he was looking outside of Gotham, which was known as a city that didn't have many super-powered people in it. But, as Tim pointed out, it was also useful for Batman.

"Bruce was going to use the Rehab program to see who was worthy of becoming heroes. Once it was complete, the Justice League would offer them the opportunity to join a covert group that would assist them in their job to make the world a better place overall, stopping Villains worldwide." He explained in a weak tone of voice.

"A new Young Justice team?" Asked Jason, to which Tim simply nodded.

"Something like that. The generation after us. Finding the next Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern-"

"-We have plenty of Lanterns already."

"You know what I mean.

The point was it was a way to secure the Justice League with a contingency plan should any of them…" He choked on his words, tears welling up again before beginning a coughing fit. Jason sighed. He got the point, but he wondered if Bruce was so arrogant he never thought that Batman would need a replacement. Speaking of which:

"What are we going to do Tim?" Jason asked as he recovered.

"What do you mean?"

"With Batman! Jason hissed quietly, obvious panic in his voice.

"We don't even know where Dick is and if he's okay! What if you can't walk again who's going to…" Tim was looking at him like the answer was obvious. Jason frowned back.

"What, me? You think Bruce wanted me to-"

"-No, I don't," Tim answered. "But I think that he prepared something in case you ever needed to. And I think that he was smart enough to make the Batcomputer know when those preparations would need to go into effect. But we- You will never know until you go and find out yourself."

"And if it's something I don't like?"

"It won't matter. You have a duty to carry out Bruce's mission until Gotham is safe. Whatever he's got planned, for once in your life, you need to play ball with him."


	3. The Mission

Jason woke up early the next day - at Six AM to be precise. He needed to so he could sneak past the Police security that had been set up around what remained Wayne Manor. He drove up as himself, not as the Red Hood; so he used the opportunity to drive in a classic Aston Martin he had bought from Bruce a few years back. He saw it as one of the few times Bruce saw him as his son after his return to the Family.

And he needed to keep memories like them tight to him.

According to the News, Commissioner Gordon had spoken about he acted last night, stopping the Getaway truck along with being the first on the scene to help find survivors. He even went as far as to compliment him on the Local New Station a few hours after he left the scene. A recording of that interview was playing in his car as he drove through the quiet streets.

" _I know that people are still critical of the Red Hood and his new heroic streak, especially with his past; I won't deny that I was too, and still am in a way. But what he did last night was, for now, worth a pardon from the GCPD. He even escorted Bruce Wayne's ward Tim Drake-Wayne to Gotham Central and helped my officers with the security of the area. If I saw him again, I'd shake him by the hand and thank him, hoping he'll continue his service to this City with the Batman and his allies._ "  
Jason went to turn the dial to silence, feeling mixed emotions, only for the interviewer to ask a question that made him do the opposite.

" _Commissioner, what about Bruce Wayne's first adopted son, Richard Grayson? Has he been found yet?_ "

" _Yes, but…_ " A pause, never good from a police officer on the report. C'mon Dick, don't let us down.  
" _But he's horribly injured. I can't repeat what the Medics reported to me before he was taken away, but I can say that like his adopted brother, it is likely he'll be in Central for a while._ " Gordon continued. The interviewer moved on to another subject shortly after and Jason turned off the radio, sighing in relief. Dick was alive too, just barely. He made a mental note to visit him as soon as it was possible. They would have to eventually. Establish what was going to happen with Nightwing, Red Robin and everything else.

For now, though, he needed to focus on the task at hand. Getting to the Batcave.

Jason drove up the road to Wayne Manor and past the first perimeter. The Security guard was awake, but barely. He looked like he was about four or five coffees into his shift and wanted to get off as soon as possible. Jason told him that he heard about what happened and was curious to see the damage from afar, as well as pay respects. Reluctantly, the guard said fine, as long as he didn't go through the gates. That was fine with him.

He drove on, and once the guard was out of sight, Jason turned off into the area where the Batmobile would drive out, getting out to gain access to the tunnel. It was his usual way in, as it annoyed Bruce back in the day. Jason opened the keypad and typed in the code, along with a voice recognition test.

"Recognise: Red Hood, Bee, Zero, Three." He ordered.

The computer responded.

" _ **Recognised-**_ " It said, before cutting off and adding, " _ **Access Denied.**_ "

"Under whose authority?"

" _ **Under: Protocol Lockdown.**_ "  
Shit. That meant Tim's theory of Bruce preparing the Batcave for a scenario like this was right. Obviously, he made it extra cautious - probably biased towards him because of his reputation. That would stop there.

"Override, Jason-Peter-Todd-Wayne, Eff, Zero, Three." He said into the microphone. The Batcomputer paused and hummed for a moment, before:

" _ **Recognised: Access Granted.**_ " The tunnel to the Cave slowly opened. Red Hood wasn't allowed in during something like this, true - but Jason was always allowed back in the Cave. He got back in his car and drove through, the cave closing once he was safely inside. Jason drove silently down the tunnel, his thoughts suddenly tripling on his worries of what he would find in the actual Cave.

Would it be destroyed? Or maybe there was someone waiting there for him? What if this was a plan by Bruce or Damien? What if Bruce had finally snapped and decided to just work as Batman until Death?

No. Tim said he saw him throughout that night. This wasn't planned by anyone in the Family, and it wasn't planned by anyone who fought Batman. This was a new enemy. And Jason needs to find him soon before he did it again.

Eventually, he came out the other end and into the cave proper. From the looks of things, the place seemed undamaged from the explosion. The Cave was low enough down from the Manor to miss anything from it. But when Jason left his car, there was one anomaly overall. The Batcomputer, repeating the same message on the screen over and over:

 _ **CRUSADER: COMPROMISED.  
BACKUP PROTOCOLS READY.**_

 _ **STATE NAME & CODE BELOW:**_

Jason exhaled. This was it, no going back now. He stepped up the stairs and walked to the Batcomputer, taking another moment, before he sat down in Bruce's chair. The chair that Batman worked in, and used to solve case after case after case. The chair Dick sat in when Bruce was thought to be gone.  
And now it was _his_ turn. Until further notice. He looked back to the screen, then typed out the same code from when he was outside.

"Jason-Peter-Todd-Wayne, Eff, Zero, Three." The Batcomputer accepted it immediately, a new message coming up:

 _ **ACCESS GRANTED.  
WELCOME JASON.**_

 _ **NOW LOADING: PROTOCOL BLOOD-MOON…**_

"What?" Jason frowned at the code title. A Blood-Moon was usually a biblical reference towards the apocalypse, or more specifically 'The End Times'. Was Bruce so paranoid of Jason replacing him as The Batman that he gave his protocol a reference to the fucking apocalypse? He took another breath, going in with an open mind, and prepared himself as the video file finished loading and began automatically. Bruce, in a previous Batman suit, looked directly into the camera as he spoke the last words Jason would ever hear from him:

" _Backup Protocol, Code-Name: Blood-Moon. Intended only for the eyes of the Red Hood, or Jason Peter Todd. The second Robin. Should anyone else see this file, before it's time or afterword, then I hope to God that you know what you are doing. But if you, Jason, are watching this, then I hope you understand what you about to become…_

" _These Protocols are here in the unlikely event that I am killed as The Batman, or as Bruce Wayne. But if this specific file is playing then it is a prediction that I fear may go in the wrong direction without clear instructions. Therefore, I have multiple tiers throughout the file. Interactions will be edited in so you may answer my questions and skip to the correct instructions."_

Jason rolled his eyes and paused the video. Of course, Bruce had multiple layers of instructions for him. After all, he was the _fucking Black Sheep._ No, Jason thought. Breathe and keep watching. You have a job to do. Prove him wrong. He unpaused. Just as Bruce began his questions.

" _If it is only me who has been killed in this scenario, press one. If myself and Damian are dead, press two. If-"_ Jason pressed two on the Keyboard before Bruce went any further. The video skipped ahead to a new point. He continued:

" _...If this is the case, then I can assume that Dick and Tim are injured in some way that requires weeks, if not months of recovery. That is fine. Contrary to what you may be thinking Jason, I do not see you as a bad option for replacing the Batman. You have all the makings of replacing me in the field. But your anger is what keeps you from doing what is right. With that in mind, I have a list of rules for you to keep in your head. As the next Batman, you MUST follow them; or you risk Gotham falling into the Hell it was before Batman. These rules will not only help you but help Gotham stay secure in these dire times._

" _Number One: The Red Hood must be retired. I don't care how you do it; but that name should never be brought up again while you, or the Batman, lives.  
Number Two: No more killing. This is obvious. You may roll your eyes at it, and disagree with it, but while you work to save Gotham from whatever shape it puts itself in, killing is off the table. The Batman has never done it, and you will keep that going. _

_Number Three: Gain Commissioner Gordon's trust. Gordon is a good man, we've worked with him for years and he trusts the Batman to work with the GCPD. But when he realises that it's not the same man behind the mask, that trust may falter. Do whatever you must do to earn it back, or you may lose him and with it, the support of the Gotham itself._

 _Number Four: Do not work alone. Your time with your 'Outlaw' group proved to the world that you are not a bad man Jason. Whoever is still alive in our… in our family, contact them. Establish a partnership. Do what you must to make sure that our city is protected. The more help you have, the better. Take it from me. After we lost you, I considered retiring forever. I was angry and almost went too far because of it. Until Tim and Dick pulled me back into the game. The Batman works at his best when he works with those he can call his allies. So use the ones you have._

 _And finally, Number Five: Rebuild the family. Dick and Tim may never go out on the field again. You have allies true, but it is never too late to bring members into the fold. A new Robin. A new Batgirl. It all depends on you. Do not waste your chance when you see someone who could use the training I gave you…"_

Bruce took a moment to sigh heavily and, to Jason's surprise, take a shot of whiskey. He then pulled off his mask. His left cheek was slightly bruised, and his lip was bleeding. Jason's eyes then widened. He recognised those injuries! He was there the night they happened, about a month ago. He remembered that what he was seeing on the screen was the best of those injuries from that night. Bruce had taken the impact of a grenade thrown by Black Mask, and his arm had popped out of the shoulder. Despite all that, somehow, Bruce smiled at the camera as he began again.

" _I should be honest with you Jason. I know that if… if and when you watch this, you will have mixed feelings about it. I understand that you're probably scared to replace Batman. But as I said before, you have the capability to do it. When I trained you as a boy, I trained you as a soldier. You taught yourself to be disciplined. Now, you must learn to do that again. It won't be easy. It wasn't for me. But you're a fighter. I also know that with those instructions I listed, you can, and will become The Batman. Maybe even a better one than I was._

 _I want to thank you for tonight though, Jason. You helped take down Black Mask as well as getting me back here alive. I'm glad I found you stealing those tires all those years ago. I saw you as a son like I saw Dick and Tim, and how I see Damian now. I do love you, Jason. You may not believe it, but I do._

 _So I hope to God that you fulfil the Mission._ "

The video ended there, and the Bat-Computer's screen snapped to black. And Jason was speechless.


	4. Paladin

Chapter Four: Paladin Gotham City Dockyards, Neutral Zone for all Gangs. Currently ran by Bane.

"So, who do you think did it?"

"What the Wayne Bombing? Gotta be Joker. Or someone who works for him at least. The fucker loves blowing up shit. I'll bet the Bat kills him this time for sure doing it too. I heard he was friends with Wayne."

"You're an idiot, Joker's been locked up tight in Arkham for months now. Plus if he did it'd be obvious. This is Joker we're talking about. Yeah, he likes blowing up shit, but not without stating it first. He makes it worse by announcing his shit first, causes panic."

"Fine then, if Joker's out, then Two-Face. He hated Wayne even before he got acid on half his face."

"Yeah, I'll give you that one, maybe-"

"Enough!" Bane shouted at the two guards on the door to his warehouse, shutting them up with a single word. Ever since the bombing last night, it was all anyone was talking about. No one had claimed it was them, and every Crime Boss and Super Villain in the City was pointing fingers without a single dash of evidence besides rumour. Bane was sick of it.

"Maldito Infierno, shut up about that? Jesus Not even a day has gone by and all I hear about is the explosion." The Crime Boss lectured his two lackeys. They did not reply.

"¡Fuera! The both of you! I have guests coming to sort it out and I need to think straight!" He ordered them with a wave of his hand at the exit. They did so silently, closing the door behind them before continuing outside.

Bane sighed angrily. Those guests were not friends of his, and if he weren't running the Dockyards as a neutral zone, then he'd use his men to kill all of them. But this meeting was necessary. No one knew who did it; both inside and out of Gotham. The City was on lockdown until they found the culprit, but since none of them was guilty of committing it, these were desperate times. So, early that morning, Bane put the word out to every Crime Boss in Gotham, from the Falcone and Maroni families to Penguin, Two-Face and The Riddler. Every one of them was to meet with him tonight for a meeting that would decide their collective next move. Would they all lay low until Gotham recovers, or snatch at the opportunity to take it over? Or would they attempt to help with the rebuilding?

Personally, Bane wanted them to take the former or the latter, but not the middle of the two. He hoped that they would be stupid enough to lay low. It was the perfect opportunity to build the farm that would rebuild his Empire and get him what he wanted. His tool to destroy the City - His Venom. If they decided to hide like cowards, Bane would start planting seeds that would undermine his opponents' positions, and in time would make them obsolete. And if they decided to help rebuild the city, then Bane would join them, and it would become a contest of who could collect the most people for their own schemes.

Bane smiled as he went through his process of climbing the political ladder. It would be the longer path of the two, and in both cases, the Batman was always a risk, but it would be possible. And that was all Bane needed.

He turned his head suddenly as he heard the two guards get shouted at by a familiar, British accent of Oswald. Cobblepot. The Penguin.

"-The hell kind of show is your man running, making me come out here?! Doesn't he know who I am? He's lucky I didn't bring me damn Croc, or I'd have his head ripped off!"

Bane rolled his eyes and went to the door and opened it to meet him. As he did so he saw that Penguin wasn't alone, and stopped himself from snapping at him. While Cobblepot was at the front, Riddler and Two-Face stood close by, eying each other over, as they were still technically at war with each other. Bane grunted at them all and waved for them to enter with him. They still had to wait for Falcone and Maroni's representatives to arrive, if they did at all.

"So Bane, I hate to admit it but I've yet to work out this riddle of a meeting. And I hate not knowing the answer to something." Edward "Riddler" Nygma asked in an irritating tone.

"And I thought you were supposed to be smart," Two-Face butted in, flipping and catching that coin of his over and over. "It's obvious. He wants everyone in the same room so he can figure out who bombed Wayne!"

"Shut up! All of you!" Bane snapped back angrily at the two bickering villains.

"I did not call you here any of you. This wasn't even my idea, it was his," He pointed to Penguin, who looked side-to-side as if he was looking for someone else to blame.

"El Pingüino told me to put out the call, so I did. Because I agreed with him that it was the right move."

"Yes, that's right." Penguin licked his lips nervously, preparing a short speech. Two-Face rolled his eyes. "Instead of pointing at everyone, claiming they were responsible for last night's bombin', we should actually be talkin' about our next move! Gotham could be ours for the taking!"

"Why? Just because Wayne's gone you think I'll work with any of you? No way in **HELL!** " Two-Face spat at Penguin. "Gotham's mine and mine alone! I was gonna run this city as Mayor until one of Falcone's God damned-"

"-I do not recommend finishing that sentence, Mister Dent unless you want to start a war with two Crime Gangs…" The voice of Alberto Falcone, the third child of Carmine. "Not unless you wish to end your life on the anniversary of the day you got that poor scar?" Dent was obviously furious at that, going for his pistol on the inside of his jacket. Alberto did the same, calmly.

"Put your weapons down, both of you!" Bane ordered at the both of them.

"I will not have bloodshed here! This is a neutral place for us. Put aside your differences and listen!"

"I already did and I ain't buyin'!" Dent snapped back, his pistol aimed at the Falcone son. The pencil-thin man was still calm and collected, but he was the first to put his weapon away.

"I am here on my Father's behalf, so I will behave myself. If Mister Dent wishes to continue this, we will do it outside of your territory." He said, joining the other members of the group so far. Two-Face gripped his empty fist, clenching his teeth before taking out his coin and flipping it again, catching it in the same hand and opening it to see the result. Tails. He growled but reluctantly put his own pistol away.

"Fine. I'll listen too. But only because I want to hear what else you have to say. The first sign of trouble in this deal and I'm out, got it?"

"That goes for me too," Riddler seconded.

"The one thing you and I will agree on, hm?"

"Don't get ahead of yourself Nygma…"

Bane looked around the group. No members of the Maroni family had yet to show up, which was not like them. He asked Alberto,

"Where is Maroni. I sent him a message too." to which the boy shrugged.

"I don't keep tabs on the Maroni family, I barely have a part in my families own affairs."

"But…" Penguin asked, rolling his wrist as a way to get more out of him. Alberto silently exhaled, rolled his eyes and continues.

"But, my father was recently informed that they are planning to leave Gotham City as soon as the Lockdown is lifted. Father has been thinking about the following suit."

"So why send you here?" Asked Riddler.

"To weigh our options. Whatever you plan here, my Father may stay, or he may pack up shop and leave like Maroni. I do not care either way."

Bane was done waiting.

"If Maroni is not coming, then we are all here. Please, sit down." He told them all, to which they obeyed. Bane remained stood up for a moment before he followed suit, then continued.

"As Cobblepot said before, Gotham City could be ours if we all worked together, but clearly that will not happen with such… High tempers in the room. Wayne may be dead but does not mean the Batman or any of his allies are gone either. For all we know, the Bastardo is watching this meeting right now, waiting for the right moment to strike."

"From what I heard, that light of his went up for most of last night and he didn't show." Penguin shared to the table. "Hell, none of the Bat-brats showed up to the call. Who knows, maybe the Bat was at Wayne's little party when the house blew? It's not like he could have predicted it."

"Do not underestimate the Batman," Bane disagreed. "He may have been killed, he may not have. Whatever the case, we are not here to discuss him. We're here to discuss who caused the explosion."

"Agreed." Alberto nodded. "I assume no one here actually did it, otherwise this would be an idiotic place to be right now."

"Of course no one here did it, or I would have figured it out by now!" Riddler gloated. Bane growled at him to drop his arrogant act, and Nygma acted accordingly.

"...However, I have made a few guesses outside of this circle already. A small list of who would want to hurt Wayne, and therefore Gotham, the most." He explained, pulling out a Portable Laptop to show them.

"And your findings?" Asked Alberto.

"Wait and see," Riddler smirked, his confidence growing once more. Once the list loaded, he began to explain. His screen glowed white, blue then back to black as if it were off. Riddler scowled.

"What the-? I can't turn it on?!"

"Did you charge it beforehand?" Two-Face smirked.

"Of course I did you, idiot, that's not what's wrong! Someones… Oh no…" Nygma's laptop turned on again suddenly, only to display a picture of Jesus on a cross.

"What the hell is this?!" Bane shouted at Nygma. But he did not give the answer.

A new voice did instead.

"That would be me, amigo."

The door to their hideout had been opened, with the two guards Bane had left outside both killed by this newcomer. He wore the armour of a Medieval Knight, helmet and all - including a broadsword which dug slightly into the floor as its wielder held the handle with both hands. The group looked him up and down, before collectively laughing at him.

"Who the hell are you? Are you late for the Halloween party that started three months ago?" Another collective chuckle. The Knight, surprisingly, joining in.

"No, Bane. I am here for all of you. Because I am here to tell you that everyone on Señor Nygma's list was wrong. Because the one who blew up Wayne Manor is me. And I, my new friends, am called: Paladin." He spoke in a Hispanic accent, like Bane. But unlike the Luchador, he was more collected, as if he knew everything that was going to happen that night.  
The table didn't laugh a third time. They were all trying to figure out who was under that helmet. Bane looked like he was about to snap, but it was Penguin who talked back to the newcomer first.

"How'd you do it." He asked. Paladin chuckled softly.

"A good question," He said, stepping towards the table slowly. "Perhaps if you allowed me to sit, I could also explain why?"

"No." Bane stood up and blocked Paladin's way. "We do not know you, amigo and frankly, I do not believe you for one moment. Take another step and I will crush you inside that metal suit and drown you in the docks. Claro?" Paladin stood his ground for a moment, the room stayed silent.

Then he took another step anyway.

Bane went to grab the man, only to be blown back and over the table, forcing everyone else to stand up as his strong body broke it in two. Only Paladin's gloved hand had moved, and it glowed goldenly. The Luchador stood up furious, shouting in rage as he charged at the Knight. This time, Paladin simply dodged and once Bane passed him, he lifted his sword and slashed across his back.

"GAAH!" Bane took the hit of the blade as he went to the floor suddenly, but looked back at his attacker and laughed sinisterly.

"A coward that hides behind a sword. Pathetic." He spat.

"How hypocritical, mi amigo luchador," Paladin countered, lowering his guard as he reached for something tied around his neck; a vial of a green liquid. "For you are addicted to this sinful substance that is responsible for your fame and fortune. While I follow the way of God!" Bane's eyes widened. The wannabe Knight held a vial of Venom in his hand, the drug that gave him the strength of a DemiGod. Bane grit his teeth in a smile.

"You follow God, eh? Well mi amigo, shall we see what power your God has against my strength with that substance in me? I'll bet not enough to beat me!" He gloated, his hand twitching as he kept watching the liquid in the vial sway. Paladin stood his ground, shaking his head.

"You want your sinful strength, you will have to take it from me; I've proven that you can't. I simply wished to talk to you and your allies, but if your will is to die by your own sinful hand," He ripped the vial off his neck and tossed it to Bane.

"Then you may as well take your poison," Bane smirked arrogantly through his mask as he uncorked it and downed it all in one.

"You've just made a grave mistake, my friend, because now you will…" His speech was interrupted by his stomach, which growled loudly as it took the Venom.

"You will… Will, will-" Bane's eyes widened suddenly as he violently threw up as if he had just been punched in the gut so hard he was forced to do so. The table that watched all vocally cringed as they saw the large, powerful man on his weak knees, showing his new sudden illness. Only Paladin laughed.

"Qué, en Nombre de Dios, me hiciste, Bastardo?" Bane asked in his mother tongue.

"What did I do?" The Knight repeated in English before kneeling down next to him, answering:

"I took your sinful power, used my God-given gift, and turned it against you. Now, all Venom you put in your body, will not make you stronger, but the opposite. That is God's will, and I am but his humble servant. I simply did as he commanded; and now, to finish your sentence for you…" He said standing back up again, grabbing Bane by the neck and picking him up with one hand "Because now, you will fall to me, and pray for mercy." Bane gagged just as Paladin threw him against the right wall, his head creating a dent on the concrete interior. The Luchador was out cold.

"Holy shit…" Said one of the remaining table members. Paladin turned his head and smirked from underneath his helmet before approaching them again. They went to grab their own weapons, but Paladin raised the same hand that just took out the man that called them to this scene and shook his head.

"Gentlemen please, no need for more violence tonight. Now, be seated; and let me you all, about my vision for a new Gotham…"


	5. Allies

Chapter Five: Allies

A week had passed since the Wayne bombing, and Gordon was getting worried that along with Gotham's Prodigal Son, its Dark Knight had been caught in the flames too. A whole week, and yet the Batman had not come to the call of the Bat-Signal once. Was he away on some mission outside of Gotham for the Justice League? He usually left a Robin around to keep him updated, and yet none of his Partners had shown up to the Signal either. Word on the street was that the Black Bat was back in town, but they were a rare sight even when Batman was about.

Gordon sighed as he took another drag from his cigarette and looked at his watch for a what seemed to be the tenth time since he started waiting that evening. Almost midnight. If crime hadn't, for some reason, stopped to a standstill this week, he'd shut it down for good and declare Batman dead; but Jim knew better than to do that. He'd give it another fifteen minutes before he'd go back downstairs and start to prepare a statement for the morning press release of Batman's Tragic Loss. Ten of those fifteen minutes went by before Gordon heard the oh-so-familiar sound of a Grapple line close by, with someone swinging on it and landing on the roof with him. He smiled and began to speak before looking at him properly.

"You're late. I was beginning to think you were killed in the explosion. Another five minutes and I would have told the press that you were dead." He chuckled darkly.

"You would have been half-right." A different voice to usual replied. Gordon's eyes widened as he turned. There was a man in a Batman-like Suit, but it wasn't the man he knew. He was slightly shorter than the original, but only by half an inch. His suit no longer had a cape or showed the man's mouth behind the mask. It was a different colour too; more greyish-blue than the simple black and grey. And most importantly; the Bat across his chest was in red, the wings going up to his shoulders. This wasn't the Batman Gordon knew, but he knew who the man behind the mask was.

"Red Hood, right? What the hell are you doing in a Batsuit?"

"The Red Hood is gone. Retired. I am Batman." His voice was distorted, with a voice changer to make it sound deeper than it actually was.

"Prove it." Gordon snapped back, flicking his cigarette to the ground in anger. The new Bat's full helmet moved slightly, before he slung off a bag on his back, producing the Red Hood Helmet. He said:

"This is the last of my old Helmets. The rest have been destroyed, or overused for a better cause."

He tossed it to Gordon, who caught it in both hands and inspected it. He was conflicted about this new change, and had to know,

"What happened? To the original? Where is he if you're the new Batman?"

"The Batman you knew was Bruce Wayne. I trust you enough to keep that a secret from the rest of the City, as he would have if he ever got the chance to share it with you."

Gordon took a moment to process what was just said. In a way, it made total sense. All of those gadgets, those vehicles and technology, you'd have to be a rich man to afford all of it. And yet he died in his own home with his guard down. It only made the whole tragedy sadder, really.

"I'm sorry. Thank you for trusting me with this information. You must be still in mourning, right?" Gordon finally asked. You didn't have to be a Detective to figure out the identities of the rest of the Family Wayne had collected over time.

"I finished mourning the moment I put this suit on for the first time."

"Tonight?"

"Three nights ago," With that in mind, the new Batman opened one of his many belt pouches that were wrapped around his hips, taking out a medium-sized Flash Drive.

"I've been since then quietly collecting information around my main suspect." He explained simply, making his way to Gordon slowly to give it to him. The Commissioner frowned as he took the drive.

"What's on it?"

"Remember those thugs that we arrested shortly before the explosion? The Data on here links them to scene of the crime an hour and a half earlier. They planted the explosives all over the exterior of the Manor and used their Robbery as a sloppy alibi to the scene of the crime." Batman replied.

"What about that one perp who shouted something in Latin just before the explosion? What was it?" Gordon recalled, trying to remember that night.

"Deus Vult Illud," Batman repeated for him "Yes, I remembered that too. It's Latin for 'God Wills It'. Whoever is behind this is a devout Believer in their Faith, so much so that they're willing to directly contradict their own text to get what they see as 'God's Vision'. The planters were just pawns though. Camera footage shows them speaking to their boss on earpieces." Gordon nodded in understanding. He'd be able to use this in the case against them and put them away for good.

"You have any ideas who it is specifically?" He asked as he put the Drive away in his coat pocket.

"Not yet. Every crime boss has gone silent for some reason. The only crime in the city is petty thievery, assault and Corruption - and even then, that's at a low too." Batman looked out to the city as he said this. His tone of voice sounded slightly sarcastic, but Gordon couldn't tell if he was complimenting the GCPD's work or jabbing at them. Whatever the case, it would take some getting used to talking to him instead of his predecessor.

"You heard about the rumours of Black Bat being back in town?" he asked, suddenly. As much as he wanted to trust this new man, he felt he needed someone else to keep him on the level.

"I have."

"And?"

"She's next on my to-do list tonight." Gordon gave a rare smirk. Great minds think alike. Maybe this new relationship would work better than he thought.

"I was about to say you should prob-" He looked to talk to him again, only to see that he had gone. "Shit. Even he does it."

It didn't take long for Jason to find Black Bat's trail. While Cass was possibly the queen of Stealth, she usually left quite a bit of damage in every fight she got herself into - and seeing as there was nothing do but stop basic thievery and attempted assaults, it was easy to find a trail and track her down.

His redesign of the Batman suit wasn't all his. Whenever he took a break going through Wayne Manor's camera footage to find the culprits of the bombings, he'd go through Bruce's suite designs and updates to see what he could find. What he created was, in his mind, a more tactical suit for a more urban environment. He found it in Bruce's "BEYOND" file - whatever that meant - and did his best to build a prototype of it. The original design had built in wings and jet boots that would be used instead of grapple hooks and the Batmobile, but Jason didn't have the time, or money to spare on that; so he had made a note to Tim on one of his hospital visits in the past week to have a look into it once he was recovered and ready to work.

" _Fine, I'll see what I can do…"_ He had said to Jason while sitting on his bed, tapping away at his personal Laptop that he had left in the Batcave. Jason had given it to him shortly beforehand, and Tim was going through what he had found at Wayne Manor before he gave the Flash drive to Gordon.

Jason wanted to believe that his meeting he just had with the Commissioner would squash any trust issues Gordon would have with him, but the first thing he had said when he reached the rook was that if he had been five minutes later he would have declared Batman dead; so from his point of view, they still had a long way to go in their relationship. Hopefully, Gordon would use what Jason gave him to put those thugs to give the police a name of some kind; but even then it was unlikely they would spill. Fanatics were usually very hard to convince.

He would know - he used to be one.

As Jason swerved the Batmobile around a corner street, he finally saw Black Bat swinging on her own grapple rope and landing on a rooftop of a small apartment building near Chinatown. He smiled in his helmet. It would be good to talk to Cass properly. It'd been what, a year a half since they last saw each other? When Jason did talk to Cass, he seemed to get along with her well enough - especially considering their mutual backgrounds with the League of Assassins and abusive parents. The reason she left last time was that she was tracking a possible member of the League to somewhere in Europe. She wanted to find out what they were planning there but went silent half a year later. Jason remembered Barbara talking to Bruce about it, and how they needed to investigate where she was.

" _Cassandra is a smart person, Barbara."_ Bruce had told her and the rest of the Family. " _Her going radio silent isn't a message from the league, it's a message from her to us - a way of saying not to interfere while she's undercover. We should take that advice."_ Whatever happened back there, Jason hoped it wasn't worse than what was going on now. He also hoped that she wouldn't stab him for wearing his current attire.

As Batman, he exited the Batmobile and grappled onto the building as well, flying up and onto the roof, rolling safely once he landed. He scanned the top to find Cass wasn't there. But this clearly wasn't her building. He looked around again, only to turn and just see Cass swing in with her legs aimed right at his body - which he just dodged as she landed in swiftly, drawing a sword on the back of her suit. She too wore a different design than he was used too. Her cape was gone and her mask was… in a way scary. She had really taken the whole "Bat" thing to the next level, with ears that stuck out and teeth around where her mouth would be. She still had a sword on her back, but the sheath looked different, slightly smaller even. Said sword was drawn suddenly, with its wielder pointing it at Batman as she shouted "Imposter!"

"Stand down, Black Bat, I am not your enemy!" Batman replied as calmly as he could, his body moving into a natural defensive stance in case she attacked still. Which she did.

She charged at him with a battle cry, slashing from her right to left at Batman's armour. He blocked it with both arms, only to block two more swings that came at other angles. He was being put on his back foot thanks to her sudden attack, but that didn't mean she had an advantage.

Black Bat scraped her blade against his left gauntlet as she spun and went for his helmet - a good choice, she probably thought she could deface him and prove that he was an imposter. However, Batman was ready for such a move, and in a split second caught her blade with both of his gauntlets and pulling it to get her off balance. Black Bat staggered with this move, holding on tight to the handle as her opponent tugged at the weapon itself. She adapted quickly though, letting Batman swing her out enough for her to let go and make him keep moving, while she prepared a punch to his face. And it worked. Batman didn't expect her to let go so suddenly, so once she did, all he could do was essentially walk into her punch under his chin.

He dropped her blade, dazed for a moment.

"Imposter!" Black Bat repeated, seemingly not tired out at all, unlike her opponent. He shook off the stun and looked back to her.

"Cassandra... I, I am _not_ your enemy!" He said to her through hard breaths. It certainly got her attention, as she took a step back, lowering the blade.

"...Dick?" She asked in a soft tone, tilting her head to the side.

"In Gotham Central Hospital, recovering. As is Tim Drake."

"Then who… Who are you? Under the mask?"

Batman sighed and swallowed, before touching the chin of his mask and lifting it up to reveal the face of Jason Todd. He smiled the best he could as Cass took another step back.

"Hey Cass," He said awkwardly. "Long time, no see, huh?"

Cass paused for a moment before she took her own helmet off and exhaled.

"Jason… I thought you were banned from the Batcave?" She asked, crossing her arms and cocking her head to one side, sceptical of him. Her English was much better than the last time Jason heard her, and she seemed much more confident in speaking as well.

"If I was, I wouldn't be standing here. And Tim and Dick would be joining Bruce, Alfred and Damian." Jason said, without a shred of sarcasm in his tone. Her eyes widened.

"So… It's true then?" She stuttered slightly, not looking right at Jason as she asked. "They're really…?"

"Yes. I'm sorry, Cass. There was nothing I could do to-"

"What do you mean?! Was it you who did it? As a joke?" She interrupted.

"No! Of course not! I was out on patrol when it happened, Bruce was hosting a party at the Manor. It was completely unexpected!" He shouted back, his fist tightening at the memory. "The city is lucky that about half of the guests survived… Including Tim and Dick." Jason could see the husk of the Manor behind Cass' shoulder. The fact that he had to live under there was still new to him, and he hated looking at it.

"Is that why you're dressed like that?" She asked, with a small tone of a smirk on her lips. Jason couldn't help but laugh.

"You're one to talk, Bat-Ears," He countered, pointing to her helmet, which made her laugh as well. "Besides, this was actually one of Bruce suits designs. I just put it together in a hurry because I had to… you know. Get to work. It's what he'd want…" Jason explained. "What he ordered, actually… But that doesn't matter now. What about you? What happened in Europe?" Cass flinched slightly as he mentioned it, moving away and sitting down on the roof, gripping her knees around her hands as she looked out at the City. Jason joined her by sitting as well, making sure that people weren't looking out to see two strangers in Bat costumes sitting on a rooftop talking with their actual faces showing.

"Europe was… hard." Cass started explaining. "My target went from Ireland to Scotland and France in the first month. Then back to England, London for the next five months."

"Then you went dark. Why?"

"It got personal. I met someone over there who…" She paused, trying to find the right words. "Who taught me to be myself. Helped my English. Then, the day before I stopped my updates, I made a mistake, made contact with the wrong person and almost blew my cover. He got involved once my target found us that night."

"And you couldn't tell Bruce…" Jason deduced. Cass nodded in return.

"It was too risky to let him know because he would have pulled me out, sent someone else, or go himself. But this was my mission. I wasn't about to fail it." She said, with a glint of sadness in her eyes. Jason could tell this wasn't a happy story.

"After that, we were on the run. Moved from City to City whenever I found a new lead. I taught him to fight, he even helped with some of my recons, but…" Another pause. Cass looked like she was on the verge of tears. Jason moved slightly closer to comfort her.

"...We were in Germany - Hamburg, I think. I thought he'd be safe doing a bit of undercover work. But I didn't think the target would turn up…"

"And, he recognised him?" He asked, putting an arm around her. She nodded silently. "I'm sorry you had to go through with that, Cass. What happened then?"

"Kept moving. Tracked him to Spain. I almost had him at _Navidad_ last year..."

"But he slipped through again?" Another silent nod as she stopped herself from crying anymore. Cass rested her head on Jason's shoulder as she looked out into the cities lights.

"I missed this place by then. I wanted to contact Bruce, tell him everything. I wanted to come back home." She admitted.

"Why didn't you then?"

"I promised Jak I wouldn't stop until I caught Paladin." She explained. "And I'm not going to break that."

"Paladin?" Jason asked, looking at her suddenly. "Who is…?"

"Jesús Nazerath. That's what he calls himself. 'Paladin'. He thinks he's some kind of Warrior of God, who has Angels whispering in his ears to kill so-called 'blasphemers'. He wants to purify the world of it's sin by any means possible." She explained.

"Sounds like he's just an extremist."

"An extremist with a cult-like family that surrounds him," Cassandra added on to Jason's labelling.  
"His wife and brothers call him the 'second coming of Jesus', and he changed his name just to fit that narrative. His three sons are being taught the worst parts of the Bible as fact. They abuse their little sister, treat her like a slave," She listed off everything she could.

Jason swallowed, seeing Cass' anger boil reminding him of his own anger. There was a time he would have advised to shoot to kill next time she saw him. There was a time he would have hunted down this man himself and dealt with it.

"And his links to the League of Assassins in Europe?" He asked Cass carefully, to which she paused in thought.

"...I never truly found out." She admitted at last. Jason internally laughed. She was right to not have contacted Bruce. He would have been furious if he heard this.

"Sometimes he was working for them, sometimes he worked against them. It was most confusing."

"But what happened next? After Spain?"

"The only lead I got out of that night was that he was going to League themselves, to meet Ra's Al Ghul. I couldn't track him there though. So I went back to England, relaxed for a month. Silence from all of my sources in the League. Then last week, I woke up to the sound of a beacon on my belt, with the message ' _Dark Knight Compromised_.' on it. That's how I heard about…"

"So you got the first flight you could."

"I couldn't get through to anyone. I thought everyone was dead. That's why when I saw you…"

"I get it, Cass," Jason told her before she finished. "It's been rough. But we still have Dick and Tim, and Barb's coming back into town tomorrow to see both of them in hospital. And now that you're back, we can start thinking of a plan to rebuild and-"

"No." Cass shook her head and got up. This time, Jason scowled, doing the same.

"What?"

She sighed."I can't stay here. I need to find Paladin and finish my mission." Cass started to move away from Jason, but he refused to let her go away without arguing back.

"Cass, you've been trying to catch him for a year and a half and you haven't yet. We need you here to rebuild the Family up again." He insisted.

"Bruce would agree with me that I need to keep going."

"And Bruce isn't here anymore."

"That doesn't make you in charge, Todd." Cass snapped as she turned back, using his surname as something she picked up from Damian.

"I'm wearing the symbol and I have a whole file Bruce created for me as Batman. I think I'm the one in charge now." Jason countered.

"I wear the symbol too, but I don't call myself Batman."

"That's because you're Black Bat, and she was Batman's partner!"

"Keyword there, _Was_. I've been working internationally for a year and a half. Why should I go back to being a sidekick?"

" **Because I need your help!** " Jason shouted at her, suddenly losing his patience. Cass blinked, surprised to hear those words. Jason silently cursed to himself as he sighed and looked at her sincerely once again.

"I… I can't be the Batman alone… Bruce said it himself." He admitted, in a quieter voice. "I know you want to fulfil your mission and get this guy behind bars. I do too. But right now, Gotham comes first. Any day now, someone is going to come forward for it. And when that happens, I will need all the help I can get taking him down without killing him. And that means I need you by my side, Cass. Because you're probably the best counterbalance I could have right now. And once Tim and Dick are out… Well, we'll figure it out from there." Jason opened up to Cass completely, putting his train of thought out to her. It was hard to open up like this to her, but somehow Jason felt more comfortable the more he spoke to her. Whoever this 'Jak' guy was, he did a good job in helping her confidence.

Cass stayed silent as she processed Jason's speech to her. He was right, Gotham always comes first when it comes to Batman. And she was Batman's partner. And as much as she wanted Paladin, Bruce would want her with Jason. Cass put out her hand for Jason.

"Fine, I'll stay." Jason's eyebrows rose.

"You will?"

"Yes." Cass nodded. "For Bruce. You're right. We need to restore the confidence of the family." He smiled as he took her hand, and they shook together.

"And, if Paladin happens to step into Gotham?" He asked, curious about her answer.

"Then we'll take him down. Together, as a team." She grinned back at him - a light smirk if anything.

"You've got yourself a deal, Black Bat."

"Good to know, Batman."


	6. Negotiations

Chapter Six: Negotiations

Jason met up with Cass outside of Gotham Central to see Tim get discharged and then the three of them would go and visit Dick, who could now have visitors. Since he'd been visiting the hospital a lot recently, Jason had to show some Identification whenever he saw Tim; but since Jason Todd was dead, he was 'Mister Peter Jayson Hood', a friend of Tim's at school. Even though he had recovered enough mentally to leave, Tim's legs were still in a bad way. The Doctor said in his final report that 'he may not be able to walk for a long time…' Months, years, it was hard to tell. Tim said that he was, for now, content with being a wheelchair, as long as he could still work and move around freely. In that case, he was given the thumbs up from the Doctor, but not without a 'Don't overwork yourself' warning, which Tim laughed off. While they waited for Dick to accept visitors, Jason bought the two of them cups of coffee while they waited in the room outside, the two of them catching up like he did with Cass the night before; her on a waiting chair and Tim in his new Mobile Wheelchair.

"So this Jak guy," Said Tim as Jason rejoined the conversation, passing him his black coffee with sugar. "What did he do? How'd you meet him?" He asked. Cass laughed slightly.

"He was a Doctor in one of London's hospitals actually. He served in the English Army as a Medic for four years, before getting injured and getting discharged. He was my neighbour in the apartment block I lived in while I was there."

"And he helped your English? While being a Doctor? Must have been a tough schedule." Jason said, impressed. He sounded like a good man, Jak, and Jason was glad that he made a friend in Cass and helped her become more confident in her speaking and English in general.

"And your relationship with him was just platonic, right, or…?" Tim asked next, making Cass frown instead of blush.

"I love you Tim, but I'm not telling you anything like that. You're technically my Brother."

"And only technically, really. I care about you Cass, and I want to know what happened with you and this guy. You don't have to go into detail, but there is something you're not-" Jason interrupted.

"Now's not the best place to talk about everything when it comes to him, Tim," He said through grit teeth and jabbing his arm slightly as a warning that not all of her story with him was Civilian friendly. Tim hit him back lightly but got the message. Cass' reaction was a sigh to her brother was about to ask.

"There _may_ have been a few times we slept with each other," She started, a small blush coming across her cheeks. "But it was nothing serious. There were times where we felt alone and needed company, and when that happened to either of us, we would oblige as a friend would." She explained reluctantly, looking away from her brothers as she said it. But before she could continue, her eyes lit up as a familiar face to all three of them entered the room - a red-haired woman with rectangular glasses wearing a purple shirt.

"Barbara!" Cass shouted happily as she jumped out of her seat and ran towards her, arms outstretched. Surprisingly, Barb was almost caught off-guard by this, but she responded just in time, hugging Cass tightly and while smiling happily, as was Cass.

"Heya Cass! When did you get back into Gotham?" Barb asked, even though all three of them figured that she knew. She was keeping up a show for the rest of the people in the room for the most part, but she still hadn't seen her in a year, so there was some sincerity in her voice.

"A few days back, I finished my tour of Europe a week ago and thought I'd come back to Gotham for a while, see the family," Cass explained as she brought her over to Jason and Tim. Barb went to hug Tim first, before reluctantly doing the same to Jason, whispering to him: "We need to talk shortly if you don't mind."

Jason nodded silently, agreeing. The night of the Bombing, Barbara was supposed to be at the party also, as Dick's Plus-One. Barb didn't know, but Dick would have proposed to her if she had got there on time. Luckily, her flight from jump City had been cancelled, and she didn't make it. However, Jason didn't know what this was about. He and barb never really got along - even when he was Robin. Once Dick had gone, Barb didn't go out with Bruce and him as much, mostly because of school but also because she thought he was, and he remembered her calling him this once to his face, 'an edgy asshole wannabe replacement'. And that hurt. Whenever they worked together the two would bicker constantly, and Bruce kept having to put himself in the case to solve it and make sure they didn't kill each other. When Jason came back, obviously, he didn't go to any of the family for help, but once he was known around the family, the bad-blood hadn't settled between him and her. Even when Bruce began to put Jason back into the fold of the family, Barb still had issues with him, as he did with her. Jason used to think she was a kissass. Barbara thought he was an asshole anti-hero.

Hopefully, that was all in the past.

"I assume you're all here to see Dick as well?" Barb asked the group as a whole, sitting down next to Cass, smiling with her. Tim nodded for them.

"That we are. I haven't even talked to him since… Well, that night. Nor has Jason."

"They wouldn't let me see him at all," Jason crossed his arms, his tone bitter. "I... have things I need to update him on."

"I think we all do Ja-"

"-Peter, please. My colleagues only call me Jay." Jason interrupted and corrected her, with a small smirk.

"Fine, _Peter_ ," Barbara corrected herself in force. "I think we all have things we want to update him on. Like how Tim here stole my look from a few years ago, hm?" She joked teasing Tim for being in a wheelchair like she had been a few years back. He laughed with her.

"Y'know, somehow, I knew you were gonna bring that up. Just like these two did, and just like Dick probably will." Tim observed like a witty comedian. They all laughed at this, and as it began to die down a nurse approached the group, smiling at Jason, as he was the one who talked to her before.

"Mister Grayson is ready to see you all now, Mister Hood. Please follow me." The nurse requested, leading the way to the wing. Once the got moving and Tim and Cass were ahead, Barbara pulled Jason aside for that talk. Though before she could say a word, Jason went first, his face serious.

"I called you three times the day after the explosion to find out where you were and if you would meet me. You didn't reply once." His bitterness came through strong as he spoke.

"I got them, trust me, But when I heard your voice on the end, I hung up," Barb replied, hands on her cocked hips.

"Why? 'Cause you thought I was pranking you or something?" Jason growled back, pausing for a moment as two people passed them in the hall. He lowered his voice and continued. "If you actually listened to the messages, you would know that I've been retired as the Hood for a week now."

"And what, now you're Batman? I refuse to believe Bruce had a backup plan that involved you." Barb said, also keeping her voice low so people wouldn't listen in.

"Yes. Protocol Blood Moon-" She snorted at the name. Jason waited for her to let him continue. "...Was a backup plan for me as Batman. It involves me restoring Gotham back to a peaceful city, but I can't do it without allies… Without the Family." He explained, dropping the bitter voice and becoming sincere.

"And you want me as one of those allies?" Barbara asked, sceptically.

"I've already made contact with your dad and have started to work with him on whoever destroyed Wayne Manor. Cass is helping me as well, and we're done here, Tim is coming back with me to set up his new station in the Cave." Jason continued explaining.

"But you still need me and Dick."

"And anyone else who will still help. Batwoman, Catwoman, Huntress. Hell, I've even made calls out to Arsenal and The Titans. But yes, you and Dick as well." Jason expanded on her assumption.

"Well Jason," Barbara sighed. "I know we've always had our… differences," She said, pausing for a moment to think of a kind way to say her point.

"But…?"

"But, Dick was supposed to propose to me that night. And I was going to say yes." Jason blinked in surprise. Did she know?

"You… you knew he was going to propose?"

"He'd already done it." Barb giggled slightly at the thought. "He asked after like our third date, the nerd, and I said yes there too. But this was going to be a public one, with a ring and a proper speech. Of course, Bruce had already figured it out, given his blessings, etcetera. But then this happened and-"

"-Okay, I get it Barb," Jason said, smiling at her, genuinely glad that she seemed excited to marry Dick. "I'm happy for you, but you're rambling. What were you going to say?" He asked. Barb flinched; clearly, her rambling was purposeful.

"Well… Once we were married and our honeymoon was done, Dick… He was thinking of us both getting out of the game." She admitted slowly. The idea didn't suit her, even Jason could read that off of her.

"And you agreed?" He asked her, letting her take time to answer.

"Yes… But also no. I didn't have a clear answer." Barb sighed, sliding down the wall to the floor. "Dick wants kids, but I don't know if I can have any. If I said yes, we'd try. If I said no, one of us would be out there stopping the bad guys while the other sits at home worrying constantly. That's how we broke up last time."

"Dick isn't gonna be leaving this place for a long time, six months at least." Jason reasoned with her. "Tim has the bill sorted, but when he comes he may have an itch to get back in. But right now, I don't need Nightwing. I need _you_ , Batgirl to…" He paused, having thought about this, but still unsure if it was the right call. "To replace Batman's role in the Justice League." Barbara got back up at this, eye wide.

"Jason I… I can't do that… Bruce practically built the League, that would make me in charge…"

"No it wouldn't," Jason argued, looking right at her. "Because Clark's in charge. Besides, you're just as smart as he was, maybe even more."

"But you're Batman now. Shouldn't he be with them?"

"I doubt they'd trust me. I was the Red Hood remember? The Robin who turned his back on Justice. And while I'm trying to get away from that, I've no idea how long I would last before I did something that put the whole group in jeopardy. But the League needs a Bat, watching over the world in general. If Batman can't, then Batgirl should."

"And… When Dick has recovered and is out? What happens then?"

Jason shrugged. "Who knows? You two can deal with that yourself. Whatever he wants to do when it comes, I'll let him. But that's then. This is now." He said, glancing at his watch for a moment. Barb rolled her eyes, figuring out why exactly.

"You already set up a meeting at the Watch-Tower, haven't you?" She asked him, with a tone that sounded as if she was slightly impressed.

"Not exactly. They're coming to us." Jason replied.

"The whole League?"

"Just Clark and Diana. I want you to be with us when we talk."

"And that 'us' is you, Tim and Cass, as well?"

"Yes."

Barb gave this a good moment of thought and was about to answer before Cass came back looking for them both, frowning.

"Are you done? Dick's waiting for you guys!"

"We'll be there soon Cass," Jason assured her, "We're just finishing up. Two minutes."

"Fine," Cass grumbled, making her way back, before looking back and adding, "We're all in Room Four, by the way."

"Thank you, dear," Barb said, waving again, before answering Jason properly.

"Well?"

"I'll go with you to the talk, but I can't promise you anything. My dad would kill me if-"

"I told him about Bruce being Batman last night. He's probably figured out most of us by now." Jason mentioned, realising he should have said sooner. "It may be in your best interest to calm his mind by telling him too." Barbara was close to slapping him because of that, Jason could see her clench her fist as he told her. But she resisted for the most part.

"Thank you for telling me that, but I think I'm good on that front. For now, let's get to Dick and be this family you keep talking about. We'll deal with the League business later on." She concluded.

"Agreed." Jason nodded. The two of them shook hands and made their way to Room Four to see Dick, who greeted them with his handsome grin. They laughed, Cass cried when Dick showed Barb the ring; but soon enough, Dick's medicine was taken, and he fell asleep with all of them in the room. Once that was done, Jason was the first to leave, Tim following soon after, and finally Cass. Barbara stayed for five minutes more in silent content before her phone rang with Tim texting her to meet them at a small Cafe near the train station. She sighed, looking at her now Fiance's sleeping face. This was going to be a long, and exhausting conversation down the line.

 _Hey guys! I just want to take a moment to thank everyone who has been reading and reviewing this so far. I'm really enjoying writing it, so it's good to see that my efforts are not all for nothing. For those that haven't reviewed yet, please do! I'd love to hear your thoughts, feedback and what you think might happen later down the line! I have it planned out quite a way so far, but I'd also love to hear any extra ideas I can add in on the side._


	7. The Steamed Bean

Chapter Seven: The Steamed Bean Gotham Plaza and Station - 12:45 PM. Peak shopping time.

"Huh, this place has changed a bit," Said Cass as she, Jason and Tim entered _The Steamed Bean Cafe_. The last time she had been here, it was the day before she left for Europe, and shortly before her send-off party at Wayne Manor. Barbara had taken her out for tea and one final English lesson. It wasn't their usual place, but Barb wanted a change of scenery and back then, Cass couldn't say much to argue against it. But as she looked around the small independent Cafe, she noticed how much it had changed. The first thing she noticed was that it was a lot busier than last time. The whole area of the town seemed to be, as a lot of other, newer shops had set up, with all of them getting a decent amount of service from the people of Gotham. Other than the business' sudden boom in customers, the arrangement seemed different too. The tables were not as spread out, the quiet radio had been replaced for a general speaker system that blared out year's newest Summer hit and the people working at the counter seemed a lot less relaxed.

"What happened here?" Cass asked Tim as they grabbed a table at the back of the place while Jason ordered their lunches collectively. It was quiet there, and it meant they didn't have to speak in lowered voices about their other lives. Once he pulled his chair into the table at a comfortable angle, Tim answered her with a shrug.

"This area's just got a popularity boom I guess. If you dig deep enough you'll find out someone like Penguin or Black Mask own and run it, but at the same time, crime doesn't run through here anymore."

"It's going down, according to the news. Jason and I have just been picking up strays who are doing it out of pressure, not because they work for anyone." Cass commented. "I don't like it though, I feel like I've seen this somewhere before, but I can't put my finger on it."

"In Europe? England, France, Spain?" Tim asked, trying to help her jog her memory.

"Maybe…"Cass went into thought for a moment, just as Jason came back with a tray of their chosen lunches. He'd heard a bit of their conversation as he made his way over.

"Whatever it is, we'll deal with it later. Let's focus on the now." He said, handing them their orders. "Barb will be here soon, then Clark and Diana will arrive. Then we talk business." He finished his point as he sat down next to Tim.

"Barb's joining us?" Cass asked, confused slightly.

"That was why they didn't come in with us to Dick's room," Tim said before taking a big sip of his second cup of coffee. "He was asking her about joining us here. I assume you have something in mind for her?" Jason nodded.

"Smart as ever Tim, I'll need that. But yes, I do," He said, then explained the conversation he had with Barb in the Hospital.

"Batgirl in the League?" Tim repeated. "Hm, it makes sense. She's just as smart as Bruce was. She'll need to train a lot to get to his strength but-"

"-But what, copycat?" Barb's voice interrupted his train of thought. Tim smiled as she joined the others at the table, panting heavily.

"How'd you figure out my new code-name as Jason's eyes in the Batcave?" He joked.

"Maybe I'm a little jealous Jay didn't call me up first, hm?" She countered, winking at Jason with the jab. He was going to say something snarky like 'Well maybe if you actually heard my calls', but he decided against it. Mainly because as he heard the cafe door open again, he looked up to see the square jaw of Clark Kent, and behind him, the Amazonian beauty Diana Prince. They all watched as Clark waited in line to order a slice of a pie of some kind, and Diana a Salad. Once they both saw them and began to approach the table, Jason rose and went to meet them, putting his hand out. To his surprise, Clark didn't take it.

"Clark, Diana, thank you for coming on such short notice," he started, getting them chairs for them around their now slightly crowded table. "We'd appreciate it a lot if you listened to what we have to say, but we are open to debating certain issues." He finished and took his seat again, watching as Clark shook Tim's hand instead.

"What is this all about, Jason? I assumed you would need some time to mourn and stick to Gotham to find out who did that… horrible thing to Bruce's home, but I didn't think you would mourn so quickly and call us up." Clark got straight to the point, not touching his food yet. Tim spoke next, getting his laptop out.

"If I may? I don't mean to call you out here Clark, but if Bruce didn't tell you, I might as well do it. Even before that night, Jason was being reinstated as one of us once again. The night the explosion happened, he was the first on the scene and-"

"We know everything about that, Mister Drake," Diana spoke up. "That isn't Clark's point."

"My _question_ , was why have you called us now?" Clark elaborated. "Are you already in so much trouble you need the League's help in cleaning up Gotham?" Jason scowled at this, truly offended at the man's question.

"Are you that narrow-minded of me, Clark? You think I can't be Batman for a week before I have to call for help? I'll have you know, I tried to call for the League's help on their channel that night, but surprisingly, I couldn't get in. Not even the Justice League had time to rush to Gotham to save one of their founding members."

"We saw that you were handling it," Clark countered simply, then going to take a bite of his pie, letting Diana speak.

"More to the point, we thought Bruce could have survived it. We thought-" She said

"But he didn't." Tim interrupted her this time. "And you didn't think. If you did, more lives would have been saved!" He looked towards Clark while saying this. In return, the Reporter swallowed his food and licked his lips.

"We're clearly getting off-track here," he said, in a slightly tired tone of voice. "If we wanted to argue about the League's Worldwide support, we'd be here past closing time, and I have a train to catch back to Metropolis. Now, what was it you wanted to actually talk about?" Clark asked. He was hard to read, but Jason could tell that the points that were brought up by them had been said before by other members of the League recently. He made a note of it in his head - it may be useful to ask Barbara to spread those meetings to him if she got in. He let Tim speak again.

"Right. As I was going to say before, Jason has been Batman officially for a week now. He's already started the case on finding the person responsible for destroying the Manor. Cass and I are going to be helping him any way we can to do that too. But Batman also has other duties outside of Gotham. With the League."

"I see," Clark nodded in understanding. "So what? You want the League to give support in helping Gotham with some other heroes in the area?"

"Not exactly," Barb finally spoke up, with a wave at Diana, who smiled back.

"Miss Gordon?" Clark asked, with Jason explaining.

"We want Barb - Batgirl - to take Batman's place in the JLA until further notice. It's the best of both of our worlds, really. Barb is just as smart and capable as Bruce was in the role, and it means you don't have to deal with me causing some kind of PR damage to the League if I went too far on someone during a mission."

"Interesting," Diana said, nodding her head. Clark, however, remained arrogantly stoic.

"And what, you think this will solve all your problems with us?" He asked.

"What's that supposed to mean? I'm retired as Red Hood, I'm following the code Bruce created for the Batman. I'm done killing people."

"For how long? You said it yourself, if you joined the League, you could cause a PR disaster if you went too far on a mission. Who's to say that won't happen here?" Clark pointed out. "I want to trust that Bruce was right by assigning you the role of the Batman Jason, but I don't know if I can trust you here."

"I'll be among people _I_ trust. Out there, it would, could be different." Jason countered, all of his Family nodding in agreement, even Barbara. "Trust goes both ways. I haven't spent a lot of time with you trusting me. I want that to change. Me staying here in Gotham, finding whoever killed Bruce. Until then, Barbara, someone who Bruce has trusted for a long time, will be the Batman's replacement. Unless you don't want him replaced?" He asked rhetorically. Clark grit his teeth but didn't respond for a moment. Barbara used this to speak up again.

"I would like to mention that, if given the chance, I would be happy to accept this role - but when Dick is well enough to leave the hospital, my membership will come into question."

"Oh?" Diana's eyebrows raised.

"We've gotten engaged again, and when he is well enough, we may have a talk about us both hanging up the Capes," Barb explained to the Princess, who clapped her hands enjoy and gave her congratulations.

"That is understandable," Clark spoke finally. "And acceptable." He agreed to the terms. "Batgirl will be instated as a member of the Justice League until the notice of her own disclosure. Batman will remain to Gotham and its territories until he has become confident of his abilities again." He looked at Jason. "I hope you do find the bastard who did this to you, truly. A part of me wants to say that when you do find me, call me so I can kill him myself…"

"But Bruce wouldn't want that." Jason finished for him, with a half-smile. He nodded in return.

"Exactly…" Clark looked at Tim. "Has there been any funeral plans yet?"

"Not too much has come, to be honest," Tim replied. "Wayne Enterprises will be paying for it, and the whole City will be invited to come and see the last of them be put to rest properly, but outside of that, I've no clue." Both League members nodded solemnly.

"Thank you. Keep us updated on that front," Clark said as he finished his pie and stood up, Diana joining him with her own food barely touched. "Keep us updated on that, please. We're all mourning his loss like you are, and we would like the proper chance to say goodbye." And with that, he walked away.

"Thank you for talking to us Jason," Diana added, her smile not fading. "And congratulations to your engagement Barbara. I look forward to us working together in the League." She said before joining Clark at the door. Those remaining sighed in relief together.

"Well - I think that went well enough," Said Jason.

 _Gotham Plaza and Station - 22:30. Six hours after closing time._

"What are we doing' here?" Asked Penguin as his car pulled up outside _The Steamed Bean Cafe_.

"Orders from Paladin, sir," His chauffeur responded. "He said to drop you off here. No reason why." Cobblepot grumbled to himself but stepped out of the car anyway. Since he walked in and defeated Bane in minutes a week ago at the harbour, Paladin had basically taken over the whole of Gotham's underground that night, with the help of those that listened to him. He got Two-Face and Riddler to stop their fighting and made them work together on tasks in their separate territories, and he assisted with the moving of both the Maroni and the Falcone families out of the City once the border patrols had been called back. The way he worked was precise as if he'd done it before - and yet Paladin neglected to share his plan with his new allies. That was the main reason Penguin got involved at all - if he could find out the Knight's plans and use them to his advantage, he would continue his act of adviser to him and his ever-growing family.

 _The Steamed Bean_ 's door opened once Cobblepot was out of his car, with a young man of Hispanic descent holding it for him.

"Bienvenido, Mister Pingüino. Mi padre te está esperando adentro." He spoke in Spanish, and without translating afterwards. Penguin didn't need it though. He didn't speak any other languages, but he gathered what he meant by it and went inside as any person would. During the day, the cafe was seen as a popular, but an independent place to get food and drink - but at night things changed. The Tables were put away and replaced with Portable computers and Lab equipment for drugs. Obnoxiously loud, foreign music played from all sides, as money was being counted at the back table by Paladin, though this was the first time Cobblepot saw him with his Helmet off. He was a handsome Spanish man, with stubble on his chin and above his top lip. His black hair thinned slightly, but there was still a charm to it. What was more noticeable was his wife; someone Cobblepot had met before only a few days ago. Her name was Elisa and she wasn't from Spain but America. Penguin had met her when she came instead of Paladin for a talk about funding for their plans - which again, they'd yet to share. Cobblepot made a mental note as he approached to mention that at this moment, as well as threaten his loss if he isn't put in the loop soon.

"Ah! Señor Cobblepot! I'm so glad you didn't ignore your chauffeur and told him to drive on. I wanted to see you about a certain business topic when it comes to running this little operation of mine." Paladin smiled at Penguin, getting up to greet him properly

"Right, I see. I'll help you out with that in a moment, mate, but first, I want you to answer a question of mine." He said bitterly. "When exactly are you fold me in with ya plan, hm? You've asked me to trust you when it comes to taking over the city, but haven't exactly told me what that plan is!" Paladin listened, his smile fading as he heard the complaints.

"I understand, come and sit and I will explain all I can to you." He looked to the man who led his guest inside the building.

"Luca, Ve a buscar a Diego y Rosà por mí? Sé rápido al respecto." He barked, the young man nodding and going behind the bar counter and into a back room. Paladin turned back to his guest. "You met my wife already, Elisa," He said, guiding a hand to her counting the money while her husband talked. She looked up and frowned slightly.

"Jesús, do you have to bring down Rosa? I just put her to bed." She complained, Penguin raising an eyebrow to the Knight's true name, which he hadn't heard until now.

"Yes, especially if Mister Cobblepot wishes to understand our plans. He must meet the whole family." Paladin justified. She didn't respond. They waited for Luca and his other children returned.

"What's all this then? A front for a drug ring? That one of God's Orders to you?" Penguin asked Paladin in a cynical tone, to which the Spaniard returned,

"An unfortunate need to complete my Quest."

Cobblepot rolled his eyes but said nothing more of it. He didn't care about what Paladin was doing as long as he got a fair cut of the profits. Speaking of which…

"What exactly is the product these lot are making?" He asked, looking back to the rest of the Cafe and the workers at the Labs. The Hispanic smiled slightly.

"Do you remember the night I came to your little meeting and defeated Bane?"

"Sure, you poisoned his Venom, right?" He shook his head.

"That was a prototype for a small concoction we have been working on for a while. This, however, is slightly different than what I gave him." Paladin said, going to a table with multiple ready viles of the drug. He picked one up and showed it to his guest. "We call it, _Faith_. It's less of a high, and more of an... addictive obedience taster."

"Ah, I get it. You're placing it in the Cafe's drinks and slowly making them addicted to it over time," Penguin started putting the pieces together.

"Yes, as well as making them complacent with orders if enough is taken at once," Paladin completed. "For example," He said, going back to the back table with Elisa and showing Cobblepot his Laptop. He scrolled through multiple open windows before he came to a live camera feed of a very dark image. Bane chained up to a wall while being fed a machine of the drug all over his body. Penguin gagged slightly.

"Jesus…"

"Do not blaspheme in my presence or I may do the same to you," Paladin growled slightly. "With Bane hooked up to the _Faith_ drug he will be in complete servitude to me and our cause."

"So you're turning him into a mindless dog?" Penguin said sceptically. "I doubt he'll appreciate it when he gets free."

"And I doubt he'll get free at all." The Spaniard countered. "Actually, your dog analogy is quite perfect. Once a dog is tamed, it does not leave its Master's side. This dog here will become addicted to _Faith_ like he was with his Venom. And when he does, he will remain loyal to the only supplier of the substance." Paladin smiled at Cobblepot, who was still cringing at the image of Bane, as was his wife. Elisa whined at her husband in Spanish to turn off the live footage, but he was too busy talking to Cobblepot to care.

"So what happens when you get enough people addicted?" Penguin asked.

"That is when the second phase... Oh! Here they are!" Paladin interrupted himself as Luca returned with, what Penguin assumed was, his younger brother and sister. His two sons looked remarkably like his father, the same handsome face and black hair Luca even beginning to wear the same facial hair style.

"Señor Cobblepot, allow me to present my third and youngest son, Diego Nazerath and my only daughter, Rosà Nazerath." Paladin introduced. The new boy, Diego, was clearly the youngest of the boys, looking only eighteen or nineteen, as well a different hairstyle; a more 'hipster' look, which made Cobblepot suspect his current role in the family. Rosà, on the other hand, was much younger than the rest of her siblings. The girl was small and had a pale complexion than the rest of her family, who all had the tanned Latino skin. She also looked a lot less confident. And not that Penguin gave a shit about how Paladin treated his children, but he noticed faint knuckle-like marks on her right cheek.

"Third? Where's your other one then?"

"You will meet him soon, mi Amigo. My eldest son is not in the City right now, as he is on his honeymoon with his new wife. He will return soon enough though. He promised me." Jesús said simply, looking proudly at his two sons, before scowling at his daughter, yelling at her in their mother tongue.

"Rosa, qué es eso en tu cara?" He pointed to the marks on her cheek. The pale girl blushed and looked away from her father and older brothers, before answering quietly:

"Me Resbalé y caí antes de acostarme, papá. No es nada…" A pause from the head of the group.

"Good to know. You may go back to bed now." The girl nodded and did as she was told, her two brothers staying behind.

"Why did you even ask for her, Father? She isn't a part of the plan!" The older of the two complained.

"Quiet Luca, not in front of our guest."

"No, your son's got a point there," Penguin agreed, crossing his arms in frustration. "Cause instead you're wastin' my time by showing me shit instead of answerin' my bloody questions! So answer them now, in front of your boys: What the hell am I doing here?" He growled at Paladin, though the Spaniard did not flinch a bit. In fact, he glared at him with a similar anger.

"I was about to begin to answer your questions before Luca interrupted me; to which I had to reply to discipline him, as his father. Then _you_ interrupted me. I do not appreciate it when my guests interrupt and shout at me. Especially when I was about to do the task they asked me." Paladin licked his dry lips slowly, staring at Cobblepot dryly, who swallowed nervously.

"I have changed my mind," The Knight snapped suddenly, turning his back on his guest, his two sons grabbing Penguin by the arms. "I have shown him all I wish to show him tonight. Take him back to his car." He ordered the two of them. Cobblepot wanted to protest, but he was too busy struggling with Luca and Diego to do so. It seemed some of Paladin's inhuman strength had been given to them as a gift. He had many questions that were answered; what was the second phase of his plan for the _Faith_ drug? How was he going to use it to take over Gotham? What did he want?! Before he could repeat any of those thoughts in his head out loud, Paladin's two sons threw him out of _The Steamed Bean_ , his chauffeur still waiting for him in his car, having a smoke as he waited.

"Finished already, sir?"

"Shut it. Not a word to any of the boys, y'hear?" Penguin said as he got up and wiped himself down, opening the door himself. He didn't need any embarrassing words about him.

As they drove back to _The Iceberg Lounge_ , Cobblepot pondered the same questions he had rushed through before he got thrown out. As his mind wandered through what he had seen, he looked out the tinted windows to watch the streets - a force of habit he picked up when Batman was around. Or at least, when he used to be. Shortly before the car arrived at his home and place of business though, it seemed he was mistaken.

Because the Bat Signal was suddenly shining in the sky. And someone was answering it.


	8. Management

Chapter Eight: Management

For the first time since the night of the explosion, the remaining members of Batman's Family had assembled. After the meeting with Clark and Diana, Jason had them all back to the Cave to help Tim in setting up his new system. At least, that was the intent. In the end, only Barbara stayed to help, and even then it was mostly her giving tips and reminders back in her days as Oracle. Tim knew what he was doing when it came to the setup. He even had a name already:

"Rapture." He called it after Jason asked. Both he and Barb snorted. Cass, next to her, sighed and put her palm in her face, shaking it in disagreement.

"Rapture? Really? That's what I'll have to say over the com now every time I speak to you?" Jason asked through a grin of giggles.

"Why not? It goes with the whole 'Blood Moon' theme Bruce put on you, I thought I'd play the part!" The ex-Robin tried to justify, folding his arms defensively.

"It's not about theming," Barb chimed in. "It's about getting to the point. I think if you call yourself Rapture he won't be able to concentrate because it's such a ridiculous name."

"Okay then, why did you choose Oracle?" Tim asked her in retort. She rolled her eyes.

"Because an Oracle was a source of an incredible amount of information. I was constantly looking through multiple windows of different sources helping Bruce with whatever case he was working on," She explained. Cass nudged her slightly. "...It also helped that I have a photographic memory, so I read a lot of News."

"So I need to have a name that has a meaning around information?" Tim asked, a smile coming to his lips.

"Yes."

"Someone who has a lot of knowledge, who is quick thinking and has fast reactions… Like maybe, a Mage?" The group groaned collectively. They all loved him for his quirks, but dammit Tim was a nerd at heart. But maybe he was right to a point…

"No," Jason started, "Not 'Mage'. 'Wizard', or 'Witch', maybe but-"

"How about 'Sage'?" Cass asked suddenly. Everyone turned to her with a cautious look. It wasn't a bad name. "As in, 'Zhìzhě', or 'Wise Man'." She continued, though with a blush on her cheeks. There was another pause before Tim nodded.

"I like it. It's quick to say for the both of you and it has a meaning we need right now. Sage…" He looked at Cass and smiled. "Thanks, Cass. I'll take it." She smiled and nodded in return.

For the rest of the afternoon, Jason trained with Cass using the Batcave's 'Combat Floor' software. For a while, they trained in hand-to-hand combat, then went to weapons. Cass favoured her sword, but Jason was unsure of what to choose. He never even had one when he was Robin, as he trained to be more of a brawler. But that didn't mean he didn't have a choice of weapon. Having studied them with Dick, Barb gave Jason some tips on Eskrima sticks. It wasn't like he hadn't used them before - he'd been in enough fights with and against Dick to understand how they were used, but in the context of Batman, it was useful to find a style that would knock the people he'd be fighting off balance. That took up most of the afternoon. But during a short break, Tim, of all people, called Jason over while Barb and Cass were sparring. The younger former-Robin was smiling at him slyly at his discovery, making Jason suspicious.

"What have you found? You're making the kind of face Dick would pull when he had some kind of joke prepared…" Jason asked with caution. Tim's smile remained.

"I was scouring through the Batcomputer and its many, many files. I happened upon a small one that was _clearly_ made by Damian," He began, his smile widening. Jason rolled his eye but let him continue.  
"What I found on it, is interesting." He clicked into the file, which just opened up more of them, but with some very interesting titles. Names like _Red Bird_ , _Batman 3.0 suit [1.0], Batcave Redesign_ \- Damian had clearly been planning ahead of time.

"Jesus, that was so much like Bruce…" Jason thought aloud as he read through the files. Tim vocally agreed.

"I had a look through them and it turns out some of them were in his early days of Robin before Bruce properly got through to him about his code. In some of these, he'd plan to kill Bruce off and take over as Batman for the Ra's and The League of Shadows." He said, opening the documents in question.

"But that's not what I called you over here for," He closed those windows and opened the _Red Bird_. Tim began to read aloud the file.

"'The use of Red Bird is for a second persona in case Robin ever became compromised. However, because _Red Bird_ is not affiliated with Batman or any of his current allies, it is possible for him to break the rule of Batman, should he so need to.'" He quoted, trying to do an impression of Damian, before stopping because of the unimpressed look in Jason's eye.

"And?" He shrugged, disinterested in the file now.

"And, I think I may have found something in this file that could fit you nicely…"

That night, Jason and Cass went out on patrol together. They were about to get updated on the Wayne Manor bombers by Gordon when he got a sudden call from dispatch, saying there was a fight breaking out between Two-Face and Riddler's gangs for some reason. Gordon summarised his briefing quickly before he headed off.

"They confessed to the bombings after we showed them your footage, but almost none of them spilt the beans on whoever planned it."

"Almost none?" Black Bat - Cass - asked. Gordon looked rushed, so he just gave them the updated file on the case. The final confesser mentioned where they were briefed on the job, a warehouse in Two-Face's territory. Gordon left them to it, shouting orders to the cops below that were still about. Batman - Jason - looked to Cass after reading over the file properly.

"I'm gonna go assist them with this fight, let the city know we're back," He said, giving the file to her. "You go to this warehouse and see what you can find anything they missed." Cass nodded, whipping her head around as a Drone suddenly buzzed down, with the voice of Tim coming into their earpieces. The drone itself was, for the most part, a robot in the shape of a bat, with a moving head, and helicopter blades in its wings.

" _I'll go with her,_ " He said. " _Two heads are better than one, and I'll be able to go through the footage quickly._ " Cass silently agreed, so Jason nodded in approval.

"Fine, but keep it on a separate channel and keep it quiet. There may be people around guarding it because of this fight," He pulled out his grapple gun as he watched the Commissioner leave the Police Station and get into a car. "Update me asap." He finished, before firing the Grapple and following the cars to the fight in the process. Black Bat looked to the _Bat-Drone_ , cocking her head to one side as if she was judging its pilot.

" _Don't look at me like that, let's move and talk plans on Channel Two, okay?_ " Tim said through the speakers. Cass could practically hear his scowl in his tone as well as Barb's laugh in the background. But she did as she was told anyway, repeating the movements of Jason and firing in the same basic direction, but heading a different route.

"Directions?" She asked Sage.

"I'll guide you don't worry," He replied, guiding the drone to take off with her. Under her mask, she smiled. It was good to be back.


	9. Combat and Clues

Chapter Nine: Combat and Clues

"...Last chance! Cease your fighting and come quietly for arrest or we _will_ open fire on you all!" Harvey Bullock's voice was shouting through a megaphone as two groups equipped with an equal amount of weapons were firing at each other from opposite buildings. Gordon and a squad of other cars pulled up beside the two that were already there, and the Commissioner sighed as he got out, walking to his partner with the megaphone, who seemed overwhelmed by the whole situation.

"Harv, what's going on?"

"Oh, hey Jim. We've no clue what started this, and they're not stopping because we're here." Bullock explained.

"Got any ideas?" He asked in a low voice, making sure his officers didn't hear him. Gordon trusted the man, but he constantly thought that he needed to move to a desk job soon, or he was gonna he himself killed somehow. He smiled at him anyway, nodding to the squad forming up on his men.

"Do what you just said, but subtly," Gordon told Harvey, as he saw a shadowy figure land on a rooftop close by, making its way over on foot from there silently.

"Surround both buildings and have a squad each storm them. They're too distracted by the other group shooting at them to think about us, so it'll catch them off balance." He told Harvey, who repeated it word for word in front of everyone. Gordon backed him up with orders of his own, as a way to give Bullock a confidence boost. If all went well, he'd buy him a drink later and talk to him about retirement to a desk.

As the police assembled, Batman was preparing to do his part to neutralise the threat. His helmets Heads-Up Display had already analysed both areas of fire, and the left building - where Two-Face's gang was - seemed to have a more powerful fire-rate over Penguin's. The conclusion? Deal with them, let the cops go for Penguin's on the other side.

"Sage, Black Bat," He asked into his earpiece. "Come in. Can you hear me?"

" _...Yeah, I'm with you. What's up?_ " Sage replied. Cass too.

" _With you too. I thought you said to keep on a different channel?_ " She asked.

"Changed my mind. Keep me posted on what you find at the warehouse, but maintain radio silence until you get there. Sage, back me up. I'm about to head into a gunfight."

" _Through your HUD? No problem._ " Sage replied. The background noise of him moving his chair to the main computer was obvious but quick. " _Ready when you are, boss._ "

Under his mask, Jason smirked at Tim's sudden nickname for him, jumping onto the roof of the building the gang was firing from, silently rolling and moving on, using his grapple gun to give him a rope to climb down the side as he ran to jump and smash in. The stunt was a success, again rolling silently to cover as two men approached to investigate it, while another shouted,  
"Ignore it! It's just the cops tryin' to psyche us out!" It was too late for them though.

As they two men turned the backs to get back, Batman went on the attack. On his left gauntlet, he had a garrote wire that he drew out, taking the first man out quickly by placing it around his neck and strangling him to unconsciousness, the other trying to get close to him, but failing. Once the first was down, his reaction was quick enough to simply punch the other into the next room, which made the rest of the group stop their fire as they saw his body fly in. It was a distraction, really. Batman used the moment to climb out and count their numbers, as well as see what the GCPD were doing below. As he heard earlier, there were two groups of cops gearing up for a storm of each building. He had to work quickly if they wanted to clean up.

"What happened, Franky?" The same voice that seemingly gave the orders asked. "Where's Joe?"

"...Th- th- the…" Franky stuttered, getting his breath back after the gut punch that sent him flying.

"The… the Bat! He's back!" He screamed at last. The other men around him all shouted in disbelief. Not including Franky with them, there were twelve men left in the group, half with weapons on them and half manning the weapons that were set up to fire at the windows.

"Enough!" The commanding voice returned, silencing them. "Search the place. If the Bat's really back, then we'll take 'im on together an' kill 'em well and proper for the boss! Then we'll take out the scum 'cross the street, then deal with the coppers below us - right?" The whole group yelled in agreement before:

"Wrong!" The deepened voice of Batman interrupted them all, the fully armoured man suddenly crashing in once again, his right leg stretch out as he kicked their leader square in the chin, sending him flying into three other men, one of them being Franky from before.

The other men - obviously surprised by the sudden attack - all stood there stunned, not recognising the mythical Crusader in his new suit. When two of them finally snapped out of and charged at him from both sides, Batman was ready for them - blocking the one on his front first twice before swing in with a right hook to the jaw, using the momentum of the punch to turn and grabbing the other behind him by the arm, then sweeping him to the ground and finishing him off with a kick to stomach.

" _One's ready to fire!_ " Sage warned in his ear-piece. He scanned the area to look for who. There were two actually, but both were too slow as he rushed them both, feigning a right punch first to psych them, instead of using both hands to grab the barrel of the semi-automatics in their hands and pull them out - dropping them quickly and punching them both directly in the face.

Batman suddenly felt a powerful pain in his back. He was being fired on from behind but was lucky that the suit was - for the most part - resistant to bullets. At least enough for him to react by grabbing and throwing two Batarangs at the barrels of each weapon, both of them beeping twice before exploding, putting their wielders to the ground too.

"Somebody fuckin' kill him already!" Their boss - who was down but not out it seemed - shouted out at the last two remaining, only one of whom had a snub-nosed revolver pistol tucked in his pants. By the time he pulled it out, checked it was loaded and aimed to fire, Batman was already in front of him; which scared him enough to drop it and simply take a punch to his gut, sliding down to the ground, accepting his fate. His unarmed friend, on the other hand, tried to run, only for him to get blocked in the room as the GCPD squad stormed it suddenly.

"Get Down!" "On the ground! Now!" "Drop your god damn weapons!" All the usual orders from police were being shouted as Batman finished off the last of them, making himself known to them by facing the leading officer, the red Bat Emblem across his chest making it obvious who it was. All the same, he still scowled a little once he lowered his own weapon.

"You took your time coming back, huh? What's with the new get-up, Bats?"

"Dire times call for something different," He brushed the question aside. "Penguin's men?"

"Already got 'em." The officer replied. "Gordon's calling in the vans to get them all to the station."

"We thought this little war of theirs was over, but maybe not," Batman moved on. "Tell Gordon that he needs to get any of them to talk about their orders. We need to find out what Penguin and Two-Face are up to, and soon," He began to move toward the window he entered from earlier, adding, "Before they tear this city apart in a war."

"Sure thing Bats, I'll let him know." The Officer turned away for a moment to watch his colleague deal with a resisting member of the group. Once they were done, he turned back around to ask "Anything- oh shit…" He was gone.

" _Cass, I finished up at the shootout between Two-Face and Penguin's gangs. I'm going to see if I can find either of them and make them talk,_ " Batman said into Black Bat's earpiece. " _Update me on your end._ " He ordered, to which Cass sighed. It was a little hard to explain the situation she was watching. After Sage started to help him with his fight, Barbara - Oracle, for now - took over the Bat Drone to help her with finding anything the cops missed. The problem, however, was that once they arrived there, someone else in a car pulled up next to it. That car happened to be one of Penguin's. But he wasn't the one who stepped out it - someone new did. Someone Cass recognised.

"...Jak?" Her eyes widened in her mask.

" _The guy you met in England? That's him?_ " Oracle asked, the Bat Drone going on ahead to get a closer look. He was half-Asian - Chinese specifically - with the majority of his hair shaved close to his scalp, with a small amount of scruff on his chin. But that wasn't all. When Cass zoomed in on her binoculars, she saw a symbol tattooed on his neck. The symbol of The League of Assassins. Cass was about to jump down in anger, before gaining her senses and taking a breath. Now was not the time to reunite with him - especially if he was working with who she thought he was.

" _Black Bat! Oracle! Report, now!_ " Batman repeated with irritation in his voice.

"This is Black Bat…" Cass started, trying to remain calm as he watched the man she worked with for a year and a half slowly break her heart by leading two guards into the warehouse. "We were about to investigate before security pulled up at the warehouse. The leader of the group is the man I worked with in Europe."

" _I thought he was killed?_ "

"Evidently the League of Assassins has been involved somehow. Their symbol in on his neck." She added. Still guided by Oracle, Bat Drone made it's way over, as a way of comfort from a distance.

" _If he's no longer an ally then take him down and continue the mission you chose to do. I'll be there shortly for back-up._ "

"He knows who Black Bat is. If I'm seen he could reveal my identity to whoever he's working for." There was a short pause with that before Sage replied.

" _I think I have an idea. Oracle, Pilot the Bat Drone to these specific coordinates. Black Bat, when I give my word, you continue on._ "

"Done," Both women replied, the Bat Drone leaving Cass' side and flying inside the building through a smashed open window - probably done a long time ago. As the Bat Drone flew in, she used the audio and video feed it was recording to listen and watch. It seemed two more men were waiting for them inside, but they looked like guards, which meant that the man in charge of them hadn't arrived yet. She decided to move to get a better position, listening to the audio feed as she moved to a better spot to watch the meetup.

"Where is he? He said he'd be here on time." Jak's familiar North London accent rang out.

"He was talking with Penguin before I got sent out here. Something about introducing him to the family." Replied one of the other men. Whoever this "he" was, he was clearly the boss.

"And that fight between his gang and Two-Face's?"

"Went as smooth as he said it would. We know the Bat's back, but not it's not the same man. So we got the original- AHHHH!" There was Sage's signal. The Bat Drone fired out a Sonic Grenade a small weapon hidden in its belly. And with it, came an extra surprise - as Batman wasn't far behind him.

" _Now, Cass!_ " Sage shouted. " _While they're fighting Jason get what we came for!_ "

Black Bat sprung into action, sticking to the shadows while Jason showed himself as the main threat to the men in the warehouse. She climbed into the place through a window in the middle of a hallway that leads to the main room - meaning she wanted to go the opposite way and find the security room. That didn't take long to find, and once she opened the room, Cass smiled in her helmet as she saw the Bat Drone already browsing through older camera files.

" _There you are,_ " Oracle said through its mic. " _Come here, I think I've found something._ " Cass pulled out a wire that allowed her HUD to see the files and plugged it into the Computer.

" _File 6/6/18_3,_ " Oracle pointed out, to which Cass clicked on quickly. It was the date of the explosion. The video played as followed:

Five of Penguin's men were beating down on what seemed to be three intruders to their territory. The audio seemed to be muted, or at the very least quiet. With no way to turn it up, Cass just watched it.

Four of the five men were focusing on the tied up man in the middle - the one on his left already seemed like he'd been beaten and the one to the right of them, a girl, was clearly crying, trying to get them to stop but also scared of what they were going to do to her. The fifth man - who was watching from afar - steps up to her, inappropriately caressing her face, probably saying something along the lines of "Everything's going to be fine", knowing full well the opposite was true.

Black Bat paused the video and zoomed in to get a better look at the three hostages. he The angle wasn't great, but the one being beaten was Jak - and while she didn't recognise the man next to him, she knew the woman too. And when she realised who exactly it was, she swore under her breath.

" _What?_ " She pointed to the woman on the screen.

"That's Elisa Nazerath, Paladin's wife," Gritting her teeth as she said so.

" _I thought you lost Paladin in Spain?_ "

"I did."

" _So that means-_ "

"Paladin's here too," Cass answered for her, exiting the video footage. "Download the rest of this to monitor it later. We should be leaving." She ordered, standing up fully and finding a way to exit.

" _Black Bat, Oracle - status?_ " Batman asked over the comms again. He seemed to be out of breath, panting heavily.

"The camera footage worked. There's no audio but I know the people there." Cass replied quickly, not giving specifics on purpose. "What about you?"

" _I'm fine. That man you mentioned earlier, your England friend, got away in the confusion. Couldn't tag him either, I was too caught up with his goons. Do you think you could find him?_ "

"Not easily," Cass replied, looking out the window at the road spotting tread marks from a motorbike. "But I'll give it a shot. Head back to the cave, look over the footage Oracle and I found. We'll talk later."

" _Copy that. And good luck finding him,_ " Jason added. " _You'll need him if you want to bring him in._ " With that, he hung up. Cass exhaled softly, opening the window she had spotted the tire-tracks on the road with.

" _I thought you said he knows who Black Bat is,_ " Oracle asked. " _Are you sure you want to find him?_ "

"I never said we were going to talk once I find him. I'm just doing recon," Cass clarified. "Besides, I want to confirm a suspicion of mine."

" _Them being?_ "

"If I almost fell in love with a traitor from the start."


	10. The Red Kite

Chapter 10: The Red Kite

 _ **Authors Note: For the sake of simplicity in this chapter, any text written in italics -**_ _Such as this_ _**\- is being translated from Spanish, Paladin's mother tongue. It'll be just for this chapter, don't worry.  
I also want to apologise for this and chapter 9 being late - midway through writing these two I got slightly distracted by other things irl. That's done now, so we'll continue. Follows, Favourites and Reviews of the story help me know that this is something people want to keep reading, so please do let me know by at least doing one of those!**_

Jak Sharp was living in a complicated time of his life. The former English-Asian Medic Soldier-turned-Doctor's life changed forever when he met Cassandra Cain a year ago. He remembered meeting her, thinking that her quiet shyness was a cute act, only to find out that she actually had big trust issues because of the people who raised her - though she never gave details on that end. It was easy to figure out though, once he got in with her a bit.

Jak used to be busy a lot during the week, but it seemed that Cass was always happy to see him when he got back from work, it only made sense that they became friends quickly. After that, it didn't take her for Cass to ask Jak to help her with her English, which he was happy to help with. They practised during the weekends when he didn't work. He kept asking Cass about what she did, how she could afford a place in what was basically Central London, but she never gave a straight answer. At least, that was until he found out her secret.

That she was the Black Bat - and on a mission from the Batman.

 _The Batman_. The same guy Jak had heard rumours about when he was a kid, only for them to get thrown out because it was stupidly impossible to think it was true. The same guy who teamed up with Superman and Wonder Woman and created the Justice League! The same guy who proved that being Human wasn't a bad thing. Jak remembered thinking about becoming like him as a kid, wanting to dress up in a costume and fight crime - maybe go to America, find him and become his partner. But that didn't matter. When Cass told him, she made him swear not to tell anyone about her secret.

"Or what?" He arrogantly replied, thinking he could get something out of her from it. Cass threatened Jak with his life, backing it up with a sword she knew how to use. He made the promise there and then. And even after everything that happened, he still kept it. Cass' mission was to track down Paladin and his family cult. Even if he was a part of it now. The thing was, after half a year of working with Cass trying to catch Paladin - he was out of money. So once he lost Cass in Spain that at Christmas, even though one of his sons had shot to kill him, he begged for his life to be spared.

And strangely enough, it worked. Paladin healed his wounds in return for his eternal loyalty - to which Jak accepted. He didn't have anywhere else to go, having quit his job in London to follow Cass and having no money left, he didn't have much choice but to follow him. And for a moment, he almost believed in Jesús' ideas. He'd never been religious growing up, but his days in the army opened him up to the idea of an afterlife. And the way Jesús talked about it, God, Heaven and the man he was named after, the more he began to listen and agree. But he soon realised that he was becoming a victim of Stockholm Syndrome when Jak saw him talking to others with other personal issues in exactly the same way. Jesús manipulated people into following his way of thinking by taking advantage of their problems, and the more he talked to them about how he could help them, the more they believed him. Once he realised this, Jak promised himself he wouldn't slip up again, but he knew he couldn't leave either - the man was too evil to just let go. He wanted to see Cass again, and he knew that she'd still be after Paladin.

So Jak decided to climb the ladder of power and play him instead.

It wasn't easy since he used to work with Black Bat to try and take his family down, but the more Jak obeyed his orders without questioning them, the more Jesús began to trust him as a fourth son. Which led to tonight and him currently driving away on a stolen motorbike: a job went wrong on purpose. Jesús' plan for tonight was to send this apparent "New Batman" on a wild chase against Riddler and Two-Face's warring gangs and requested both factions report to him with intel on his fighting style so he could begin to study it. Jak figured the easy way to stop this from happening properly was both tipping off the GCPD of the fight so the Bat got back up and all members of both gangs were dealt with quickly, and prepare a secondary mission in the background. When you knew how, it was easy to convince Jesús of anything - so Jak simply asked if now was the best time to set up a second bombing plan while the Bat was distracted.

Since the Wayne bombing was successful in bringing allies to his side, he could use a second on to his advantage by bringing in more allies from areas outside of Gotham - if need be. He took the bait easily, and Jak said he would prepare a new team and meet them in the same location as before. He knew that with the GCPD tipped off, Batman would be finished sooner rather than later and find the dealings. He also found out through some overheard chat that the men from the Wayne Manor job confessed to where their planning station was - so it was a logical next move for the Bat.

But he didn't expect Cass to be there too.

And now, she was chasing Jak in her own way as a way to find where Paladin's lair was. On one hand, Jak wanted nothing more than to stop and try and calm Cass down. But on the other, he couldn't see her until Jesús knew that his plan failed. So now he had to lose her. Or make it look like it anyway. He still wasn't quite used to the way Gotham was roaded - almost as if the city planned to have vigilantes swinging around from different buildings and running about on rooftops. He also wasn't used to the roads, but that was just the general American grid system - with an occasional bridge. As he just managed to pass some traffic lights going amber to red, Jak to the moment to look behind him and see where Cass was. She was behind, and about to lose track of him as he turned at the next possible opening. Jak knew she'd find him again tonight, but it wouldn't be for a while. He headed back to _The Steamed Bean_ cafe - Jesús' base of operations - as usual, figuring out what to say quickly before Jak saw Paladin. As he entered the Cafe-turned-drug-lab, Jesús' second son, Luca approached him.

" _Luca,_ " Jak spoke in Spanish through deep breathing, panting from his ride. " _Where is your father? I need to speak to him about tonight._ " He asked. Luca frowned, replying in his mother tongue.

" _What did you do? Did you compromise us after the plan of distraction with the Batman failed?_ " Jak internally swore. Word had already reached them about that plan failing. Jesús would likely plan something to find a rat in his allies soon after this. But he stayed in character and scowled at the accusation made by Luca, who had crossed his arms in front of himself, blocking him from going in any further.

" _I've served your family for months, why would I have anything to do with that. If he trusts me then you should too. Now let me pass, I have business with him about the next bombing._ " He said, keeping to the point. Luca reluctantly lets Jak passed, but not without a " _Watch your back, pet._ " being spat at him. Jesús' boys had been calling him that ever since he became a member of their father's team for the Gotham missions, as a way of telling him he was just their Father's pet and therefore, easily disposable. He didn't care, of course, but he acted as if it did to make them feel as if they were in control. It was a complicated game of Chess that he was playing, but one he intended on winning.

Jak made his way to Jesús' office above the cafe, passing his guards their without questioning. Once the situation was explained, the guard let him in, warning him with a whispered, "He's not in a great mood…"

Jak took it to heart as the door opened and his name was announced. Jesús looked up from some paperwork to the guard and nodded to let him in, then went back to it. Once the guard left he spoke to his new guest.

"Close the door behind you, _my boy._ I don't want anyone hearing us." Jak did as he was ordered, then took a step forward sheepishly, awaiting the Paladin's wrath.

" _I assume Luca informed you about the Batman plan failing?_ " Jesús asked him, still not looking up from his deskwork.

" _Yes sir, I'm sorry I didn't think the police would-_ "

" _It doesn't matter._ " Jesús interrupted him quickly, finally looking up from his work. " _As long as he doesn't link Riddler and Two-Face to us, we should be fine._ " He paused, looking Jak over. " _He hasn't linked us to them, has he?_ "

" _No sir,_ _but… we do have a different problem… In the form of the Black Bat being in Gotham._ " Jak explained. Jesús clicked his tongue in frustration as he heard Cass' alias being spoken again. He had to be careful with his words from now on and not let anything slip.

" _I thought it was too good to be true that she would abandon the chase so easily after our last encounter. I suppose coming to her point of origin is as suitable as any place to return. She was at the warehouse meeting?_ "

" _Yes, but I didn't see her much. Batman was there too - they must be working together to find us._ " Paladin swore loudly, pausing for a moment to listen out for his wife - only to get silence - He continued

" _Anything else?_ "

" _...Yes. Black Bat pursued me after the fight. I lost her, but she knows I'm with you now._ " He added. Jesús nodded as if he already agreed with what Jak was about to say. " _I plan on staying away from her as much as possible. I do not wish to be tamed by her again._ "

" _I agree. We will deal with the Bats soon enough, but until we can stay away from them both. Lay low here or at your apartment. César will be here soon and then he will take your place._ " César. Jak internally rolled his eyes at the mention of Jesús' first born. He was as old as Jak - Twenty-five specifically - but just as obnoxious as his father, who had sent him away on a "negotiation mission" Eastwards. Until he as done them, Jak had been made the unofficial second in command, but it was never permanent. And of course, now that his game of Chess with Jesús was entering a new stage, he was coming back. That might put a spanner in the works.

" _But, what about the plan. Would he not be better as security like Luca and Diego?_ " Jak inquired, digging for information he could use. Jesús waved him off.

" _Your place here was never forever, Sharp. My boys are right to call you my pet - because you are disposable. César is my first-born and knows everything I have planned for this blasphemous city - and when he returns, we will go to stage two._ "

Jak's eyes widened. He always shuddered slightly when he remembered the whole of Paladin's plan but stage two was always the worst of it because of what it meant. Stage Two was preparing Rosa's sacrificial chamber.

" _Jesús,_ " He said after a short breath. " _Are you sure Rosa is the best one for this to-_ "

" _She IS The Red Kite!"_ Jesús snapped at Jak's hesitation, standing up from his seat suddenly. " _When the Lord spoke to me he told me that my only daughter is the one destined to bring about a new era. But Rosa… She is not worthy of it. The Red Kite is in her blood and I will take it from her and use it for our cause, that is what the Lord commands of me! I will not disobey! Do you understand me?_ " Jak nodded silently.

" _If that is the case… Should I begin the preparations for it? We have a lot of work to cover if we want to be on schedule._ " Jesús paused at this question. Jak had a point, but he just refused it.

" _Not yet. We keep going._ " Jesús sat back down at his desk, pulling out a small flash drive from his laptop. " _But take this to Mister Cobblepot. It explains the basics of phase two. He will be helping us with finding a place to begin the process._ " He handed it to Jak slowly, adding, in English. "Do not fail me again, Jak. I don't want the Bat catching us while he is still weak." Jak nodded again in agreement.

"Yes, sir. Will that be all tonight?"

"Si."

"In that case, good night, sir." Jesús gave Jak a grunt in return as he left his office quickly. He looked to the same guard who let him in, who mentioned that his face was quite pale. Jak bid him good night too and left the cafe in a hurry. He climbed onto his bike, starting the engine quickly and drove off into the night.

Black Bat made him crash two minutes later.


	11. Star Crossed

Chapter 11: Star-Crossed

Black Bat didn't lose Jak's motorbike for a second of the chase. She knew that Jak would try to lose her in some way, but there was no point in playing a game of chase who knew your tactics. So she waited for him, alone on a rooftop knowing for sure that he'd be stupid enough to come back the same way he went to escape her. She didn't care where he went - even if it did lead her to Paladin - she just wanted him tonight.

" _Besides, I want to confirm a suspicion of mine."_

" _Them being?"_

" _If I almost fell in love with a traitor from the start."_

Cass repeated the end of that conversation over and over in her head while she waited - pondering if she meant it. Did she fall in love with Jak? Was he going to betray her anyway if she saw him alive back in Spain all that time ago? Or was she just trying to make an excuse for the sudden guilt she was feeling now that she knew that she could have saved him?

She debated these thoughts by herself for a while, until she heard the sound of the motorbike she gave up on chasing twenty minutes earlier. The moment its rider turned the corner, Cass dived and swung in on her grapple, connecting her feet to Jak's face - obviously dismounting him and slide him onto the sidewalk beside him. As he rolled to limit the damage to himself, Cass pounced Jak, pinning all four of his limbs to the sidewalk in an attempt to intimidate him. To Cass' surprise, he just chuckled.

"...Hey Cass. long time no see, hm?" Cass slapped him at that. Jak didn't resist it. "I deserve that." She growled, angry that she wasn't scaring him at all. She went for the short sword on her back, only to see Jak's eyes widen in genuine surprise. No words left his mouth because his expression just said, _Oh shit, is she really going to?_

Her answer? No. Cass sighed and took her hand away from the weapon and stopping her pin. Jak was about to repeat her name again.

"Shut up!" She hissed, getting up and pointing her grapple gun to a roof where they could talk without people hearing. Jak got up too and went for her hand. She allowed it, feeling a slight blush on her cheeks as it did so, gripping it tightly so he wouldn't let go. Once fired and they landed on the building she wanted Cass immediately ripped her hand from Jak's, slapping him once more.

"Ow! Cass, what the hel-"

"What the hell do you think that was for, you idiot? You're alive and working for Nazerath! Why else do you think I just kicked you off of your bike like that?" Cass cut him off, all of her emotions spilling out at once like a teenager trying to defend themselves while also being afraid of punishment.  
"Did you not think to find me? To go back to where we agreed, or to call me? Are you actually stupid or…" She stopped midway through her insult-throwing, to see Jak was smiling somewhat, proudly.  
"What? Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Your speech," Jak stated. "It's so much better than before. You sound like my sister… If I had a sister." Cass was becoming so emotionally confused she didn't know if she was angry or upset anymore.

"Don't joke about like this! I'm calling you an idiot for not finding me!" Was all she could reply, but Jak simply nodded.

"And you're right to. I am an idiot!" He happily repeated. "I was saved by the man I promised I'd help you track down and defeat, then joined his family cult, when I could have gone to a hospital. When I could have found you at our meeting point. But do you know why I didn't do that?" He asked. Under her mask Cass stood there with a look of genuine confusion, unable to answer. She tried her best to play it off as if she was impatiently waiting for an answer. Jak continued explaining:

"Because I wanted to play his game! Jesús… he wants the world to be exactly like his vision - slaves under his version of the Judeo-Christian Religion and he's starting with Gotham. I don't want that!"

"So why are you working for him?" Cass insisted. "Why do you have that tattoo on your neck?" She pointed to the League of Assassins tattoo she spotted earlier that night. Jak sighed.

"Yeah, I had to do what I had to do to blend in. Jesús wanted me to prove my loyalty - so I got this shortly after he pledged his allegiance to Ra's Al Ghul." He explained. "It doesn't mean I'm loyal to him. I've seen through his lies, I saw it today! I know his plans and I'm in a position for me to disrupt them!" He continued. Cass' eyes widened at this

"You know his plans? Tell me about them, now!" She ordered Jak, only for him to shake his head.

"I will. But not here. Not now," She began to growl in frustration at the man, who put his hands in the air in protest.

"Before you hit me again Cass, let me explain." And she did. She listened to Jak as he explained all of his sabotage work for Paladin. His purposely sloppy instructions to the people behind the Wayne Manor bombing and their terrible alibi; the GCPD tip-off for the Gang war tonight that was so quickly dealt with;

"And most importantly," Jak started his third point, taking out a flash drive that Nazerath had apparently just given him during his meeting with him. "This."

"What's in it?"

"Details for Oswald Cobblepot. Jesús wants him to organise a place for…" A pause, non-intentional. Jak took a moment to breathe slowly before continuing. "A place to organise a sacrifice. A sacrifice of blood." He looked as if he was going to be sick.

"You're holding things back with me Jak," Cass moved on. "Why not tell me everything now! Let me and Batman defeat him before Paladin knows it?!" She demanded. Jak shook his head.

"Nothing would make me happier to see him arrested and trialled for his crimes," He agreed. "But if I tell you everything now? I'd be linked."

"You would be linked, either way, Jak. Tell me now and I could help you."

"It's not that simple! I'm in the middle of a game of chess against Jesús and if I told you what I knew now, It'd be the same as-" Cassandra cut him off there with a single hand raised. Exhaling, she slowly took her mask off. Jak couldn't help but snort quietly at the effort she put into covering her face, as well as keeping the "Bat" look, but he regretted it once he saw Cass' eyes stare at him.

"I don't need you comparing this to a game of chess, Jak," She started. "I already know what you're trying to stay. You're saying that if you left now with everything you knew - especially after tonight - he'd know that you betrayed him for me. Right?" Jak vocally agreed, but let her continue.

"Fine. If that's your 'tactic', play it out. If it gets you killed - I already mourned you, so it won't be too bad for me." She snapped.

"And if it works, and I get away with it…?" Jak cautiously returned, taking a short step forward towards Cass, not repelling like he thought she would. In fact, there seemed to be a slight blush on her cheeks.

"Maybe, we could continue where we left off the night before it we last saw each other?" He added, aware that he was pushing his luck with such a reference and reflecting as such in his tone. Surprisingly, she laughed slightly.

"...As much as I'd like that…" Cass started, pausing for a breath of thought. "It would take some convincing, Jak." Her voice was going back to the soft shyness she had when they first met. Jak knew she was hard to read, but when Cass became like that, he knew how to react.

He took another step forward and kissed her suddenly. It was a quick kiss, just to prove that he was willing. But clearly, she wasn't having it, as she pulled herself off and took a large step back afterwards - her face both blushing and angry at the same time. In fact, after she did so, Cass hit him again - which Jak took.

"I definitely deserved that," he softly chuckled.

"Come near me like that again before Paladin's downfall and I may kill you." Cass countered simply. "I don't care if you're trying to give me intel on him - do that again and I'll end your little 'game' against him before you can finish it." She stepped away from Jak quickly, her face firm with the anger he speculated earlier. He stood where he was, accepting her statement without a word, and let her leave.

"On the bright side," Jak thought as he watched Cass swing away, "At least I got to talk to her."


	12. A Mourning City

Chapter 12: A Mourning City

"Patrol! Forward, march!" A commanding officer ordered as small squads of Gotham Police picked up the memorial caskets of the Wayne Family and other deaths were killed at the Wayne Manor explosion. A band began a slow marching theme for them. Gotham City was mourning the deaths of fifty. The majority of its residents were there for the funeral, family members of everyone that was lost - including the adopted sons of Bruce Wayne; who's casket lead the way with Jim and Barbara Gordon carrying it along with the other officers.

Dick Grayson - out of Gotham Central for the day - and Tim Drake followed closely behind in their wheelchairs. Both were expected to make speeches after the Commissioner's commemoration of those to be buried, along with a moment of silence. There was some gossip surrounding the mysterious third man who walked alongside the two adoptive brothers. Some speculated it was the long thought dead Jason Todd, Bruce Wayne's second adopted son after Grayson, but all grown up. Though no one outside of the brother's approached him, it was later established by Barbara Gordon that he was a close friend of Tim's, Mister Peter Hood. He knew Bruce through him, and while it was only a short time, he wanted to pay his respects. He was also mentioned to be an extra security for Mister Grayson, who was still recovering from his injuries.

Commissioner Gordon's was quick and to the point. He mainly focused on the Wayne family and how they were one of the few uncorrupt rich families who lived in Gotham, giving back to the City in every way they could, with Bruce Wayne being at the top of the record.

"I knew Bruce since my first day in the Police department here;" He said. "The tragic night of his parent's death. I remember him asking why anyone would do such a horrible thing to such kind people." Said recollection seemed to bring a tear to Gordon's eye, as he paused afterwards to get himself together.

"When I met him again years later - Bruce seemed so different like he had a plan for everything when it came to the City. He shared those dreams with us and we listened. He never used that power against us. He never betrayed us." Another pause. This time for effect, or to rearrange his notes? No one could tell.

"The other forty-seven people who died with him believed in what Bruce had to say. I hope this City will continue to do the same - in his spirit. Because if the Batman is our Knight, then Bruce was the Knight of the Day," He paused and looked to Dick and Tim, finishing with,

"I look forward to seeing the ones he raised continue his legacy."

The City applauded Gordon and his speech as he left the podium and went to stand next to his daughter, who had tears in her eyes from the speech.

Once the applause ceased, Dick slowly got up from his wheelchair and went to the podium. He was able to walk, but had not been on his feet since the night and was still rather week everywhere. Peter Hood and Barbara Gordon helped him, with the latter staying behind in case he needed help. His speech was also short. He thanked the commissioner for his words on Bruce and his service in general and said he would work hard to uphold the Wayne Legacy through his name once he has recovered.

"But, I must also thank a different member of the Gordon family," He suddenly stated, turning to Barbara. "Barb Gordon, my best friend for the longest time, and the woman I believe to be my soulmate. Like Bruce, she has been with me ever since I began to live in Gotham. And while Bruce helped me to live with myself, she taught me to love. So I think it's only fair I finally return that, after so long." He slowly got down on his knees and showed her an engagement ring. "So Barb," Grayson continued. "In a time of grief, will you honour me and help me continue the Wayne Legacy?"

The crowd cheered as Barb said yes.

Tim Drake was the last of the speakers and was meant to go up after Dick, but after he proposed to Barb in front of the city, it was all everyone was talking about for the next few hours. It wasn't a big issue, it meant he could practice some more. Eventually, once the press had calmed down about the proposal and Commissioner Gordon had asked no more questions on the topic, Tim rolled up to a lowered microphone he could speak into. A polite applause followed with him, as he expected - rumour mills had already gone out on who Dick would choose to be his best man, and he was at the top of the speculation list. Tim took it as a applause for what he expected earlier: A congratulations on his new status as CEO of Wayne Enterprises. He cleared his throat as it dispersed, and began.

"Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. I know many of you are excited about the newly engaged couple - and I wish them well in their future together - but, if I may, I want to come back to what the Commissioner said about the Wayne Legacy, and how we will continue it." He explained.  
"Dick, my adoptive older brother, will, hopefully, continue it through the United legacy of his and Barbara's blood with children, if they choose to have any. But I will go a different route. As the heir to Wayne Enterprises, I will be taking the position of CEO of the company as soon as possible!" He paused for a moment as the crowd went into applause for this announcement, thanking them while waiting to continue.

"And, as my first speech as CEO, I wish to continue the last speech that Bruce made, before his tragic, sudden death. Some of you who were there the night of the explosion will remember this. Others may have blocked it out completely. Either way, I believe what Bruce was building up to was important, and so should not be thrown out just because he never finished it." The crowd mumbled in agreement, a few Here Here's and Well Said's, shouted out among them. Tim smiled at that, his confidence widening as he took out a copy of the speech Bruce wrote, unfolding it for him to read off of. He took a drink from a bottle of water before starting.

"For the past two decades, this world has transformed hugely. We've had Aliens, good and bad come to our world, to protect and invade. We've had heroes rise and fall, and Cities almost crumbling because of all of these things. We should highly commend the Justice League and their allies, who save us time and time again from crisis after crisis for nothing but because they want to. From Superman in Metropolis to our Batman and his many allies, to Jump City and the Teen Titans, we have been relying on Heroes to save us from threats that world governments can not. But what happens when Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and all of their allies retire? In a positive scenario, proteges like Robin, Wonder Girl and Superboy would step up to each of their mentor's mantles, becoming the next generation. But I ask you, what happens after they go, too?" Pause for effect, taking a drink of water and let the questions sink in for those listening.

"The answer, actually, is easier than you think," Tim continued reading. "Metahumans are a step into the future of the human race as we know it, and I believe if we can train future Metahumans to control their abilities, then one day, we may no longer need heroes at all." He put away the piece of paper and continued on without the words, apparently memorised.

"I plan to fund and open the first School for Metahuman Children - as a way to raise and train the third and fourth generation of the Justice League, and more to the point, a more peaceful future for our planet as a whole." The audience cheered vocally and applauded this idea, cameras from multiple news presses flashing at the stage. Tim then pointed to the hill that Wayne Manor used to stand on in the distance.  
"And, as a memorial to my adoptive Father, Bruce, I would have his family's home rebuilt and modelled as a place for these students, as a way to tell them that the man who started this idea will always be with them. Even in death. Thank you!"

Tim ended the speech there, dozens of reporters bursting with questions about this new proposal that he had just given them. He smiled broadly as rolled away from them and into the back of the stage. He smiled broadly as rolled away from them and into the back of the stage. Whatever their thoughts on it, it wouldn't matter. He had checked before the announcement to see if Wayne Enterprises had greenlit the project before it's announcement before he found the copy of Bruce's speech. Not to his surprise, it had but was waiting for the CEO to officially launch it. Which he did. And as the feeling began to settle in of him being in charge of a worldwide company, he grabbed a cup of coffee, asked to be taken to his car and head back to his office.

 _ **That's right! We're doing an X-Men homage in a DC story, baby! This was mentioned in the background of one of the early chapters, and I wanted to do something with it for a while now - so I did! I have plans for it down the line, but I thought it would be a cool idea recall it now through Tim as a way to help me write him outside of him being Sage. More Jason stuff in Chapter 13.**_

 _ **Hopefully, the next two chapters will be out by the Friday after this week (the 7th of September for those in the future). After I get up to 15 I'll be going on a short break to prepare my move to University and settle in. Once I return the new schedule will be a new chapter every week if all goes well. When studies kick up that may change and I'll let you guys know. As always, Reviews on the more recent chapters and feedback in general - positive and constructive - are always welcome. Let me know what you guys are thinking of where this is going, tell me what you want for future chapters and so on. Talk to me and I will talk back through my writing! See you guys for Chapter 13 - it's also got a surprise with it ;P**_


	13. Luck of the Black Cat

Chapter 13: "Luck of the Black Cat"

Jason had watched Tim's speech/announcement from the back of the stage. Having already been told the plan of both Dick's and Tim's beforehand, he didn't concentrate on them, but couldn't help coming out shortly after the engagement of Dick and Babs had been announced. He was excited and congratulated them on it publicly as Peter Hood, his current alter-ego when in Gotham. Jason hated that his true name had to stay dead to everyone but the Bat-Family, but as long as he could go out in daylight without being connected to them, he was happy.

Once he escorted Tim back to his work car to take him back to Wayne Enterprises, Jason headed back to the newly built memorial graveyard. A dozen undertakers and grave keepers were overseeing the digging of holes and burial of each coffin, with family members at each one paying their respects and saying goodbye to those they lost. Jason stood by the graves of Wayne Gravestones, now completed with Bruce and Damien's along with Thomas and Martha. Jason hadn't prayed in years, but he remembered a small amount of it from his time at a Catholic Orphanage he stayed at before Bruce took him in, and decided to repeat what he could as a last goodbye to them as a whole. He didn't plan on coming back to a graveyard with his Adopted Father and Brother lay.

"Didn't see you as the Praying type, _Mister Hood_." The sly, Femme fatale tone of Selina Kyle interrupted his last thoughts to the two of them. Jason never understood why Bruce began to trust Selina. To him, it seemed he'd gone soft, falling for a petty Cat-Burglar who just happened to fight crime as well as commit it. If he were still the Red Hood, he'd call out on Bruce's hypocrisy.

But if Batman trusted Catwoman, who was he to break that trust?

"You gonna talk or have you already picked up Bruce's broody silence after stealing his look for two weeks?" Selina asked in a bored tone. Jason slowly got up and turned to finally see her properly. To his surprise, she was dressed for the occasion, wearing the typical all-black funeral dress and veil to show she was in mourning.

"Enjoy the service?" He changed the subject through a question, ignoring her last two sentences that jabbed him.

"Surprisingly, yes," Selina nodded. "Gordon's was the best though; I didn't care for the proposal and I already knew about Bruce's little Metahuman School plan. But it's good to see that things are going back to normal." She concluded. Jason shook his head.

"Less normal than you'd think. The man who bombed Wayne Manor is still out there and planning something big. Jesús Nazerath, calls himself Paladin. Heard of him at all?" He asked, with Selina already nodding.

"Of course I've heard of him, everyone in the underground has. Penguin's funding him and Two-Face and Riddler settled their war because of him. Something big is happening but I never thought he was linked to the bombing." Jason took a flash drive out from his suit pocket and handed it to her as they walked and talked together.

"Everything we've got on them so far is on here. Go through it asap, I want you on this case with me as an inside eye."

"Good to know, seeing as I was going to give you intel on Two-Face anyway," She mentioned as she took the drive from Jason and put it in the cleavage that she showed.

"Shortly after Bruce was announced dead I counted my losses and went to ol' Harv to cross a new deal. I told him I was up for helping him with taking down Nigma if he was still fighting that war - which he seemed shifty about but agreed to. Then I did the same with Nigma, who was the same, and finally Cobblepot. He was the one who spilt Paladin to me as the new face." Selena explained calmly.

"So you're playing all three sides?" She confirmed Jason's question with a simple nod.

"Good to know. Anything to report from the past two weeks?"

"Plenty on both sides. All three are working for Paladin for selfish gains. Dent's working with him until he slips up and then he plans to take over this 'operation' of his and use it to manipulate the city to make him Mayor of Gotham. Riddler's waiting for Harv to do that then he'll start playing his games with him again - just as a way to undermine him."

"And Cobblepot?"

"Won't say anything about his real plans to me yet. I just know he has them."

"He doesn't trust you yet, clearly."

"It's not about trust," Selena corrected Jason. "It's about their apparent deal. From what I can tell, Paladin's got an iron tight grip on his beak of a nose, so Cobblepot's playing close to the chest until that grip is loosened. No clue what dirt he's got on him, though."

"It must be big if he's basically funding everything Paladin's planning," Jason noted. "We'll look into it asap. What was that about Riddler starting up his war with Dent again? I thought they were-"

"-They were already at war?" Selena gave him her sly smile and tone again. "That's the juicy bit of all this, dear. It's a wild-goose chase just for you. Apparently set up by Mr Paladin himself. He thought that you'll be so distracted by Dent and Nigma's constant fighting you'll ignore the more subtle members of both parties working together for his benefit. One of those jobs is happening tonight, incidentally." She added.  
"Used to be in Joker's territory before Riddler took it over. One of those carnivals he took over." Jason swore under his breath, taking a moment to collect all of this. A change of plans was clearly necessary.

"Anything else I should know since you have your ears to the ground?" He finally asked, beginning to understand Bruce's trust with her. She walked the line, like he used to, between good and evil. Except her steps were a little more calculated from what Jason could tell.

"On that front, no. But on the hero front, yes." Selena answered his question quickly. "Last night Batwoman and Huntress hit up a weapon cache with members from Black Mask and Two-Face's gangs ready to split up equally. Mask was there, Dent wasn't. Both groups were taken down in minutes. I talked to them for a moment, they want in on the case. Question too."

Again, Jason took a moment to consider this overall. As much as he needed help with the Nazerath Case, this was an example of him not being able to be everywhere at once. Plus, he already had Cass and Tim working with him - who he trusted - and now also Selena, who he was beginning to understand more. Jason didn't trust Batwoman and he didn't know Huntress or The Question well enough. He looked back to Selena with a look of uncertainty, before shaking his head.

"Put a pin in it," He decided. "Let them know that we'll be discussing a relationship with them soon, but until then they should keep to stopping people outside of Nazerath's circle. Tell them to stick to the outside of Gotham and more in Bludhaven if possible." He ordered. Selena was about to reply in understanding, only to clutch her stomach in pain suddenly. She took a moment, breathing in and out slowly.

"Shit…" Jason couldn't help but stare. Was it possible…?

"What's wrong? Stomach problems?"

"Worse…" She replied, still taking her time. "I… The last time I saw Bruce was… Was in my bedroom…" His eyes widened as she realised what she meant.

"You mean you and him?" Selena's only reply was an exhale and a short nod.

"Oh god…"

"Yeah. It's his. And now he's in the ground." She gave a small laugh. "Luck of a black cat I suppose," Jason was silent. The Wayne legacy could continue through her.

"You could go public with this. Say you and Bruce married in secret and take his name as a double barrel." Selena waved off this suggestion.

"I'm not Selena Kyle-Wayne, darling."

"But _he_ will be."

" _It_ could be if I wanted it to be." She countered. "As of yet, I've still not decided if I actually want it or not." She let a sad sigh out, pausing and eventually sitting down on one of the street benches on the sidewalk.

"Because of Bruce?" Jason asked, sitting next to her.

"Partly," Selena said. "If he hadn't been killed I would have told him. Knowing him he would have said he didn't care, only to take it from me once it was born and raise him as his son on his own." Jason wasn't about to argue that point, as he partly agreed with it.

"But it's also because I don't know what I'd do if I did keep it." She added. "Gotham isn't exactly safe for a newborn child, you know?" Jason nodded silently, not needing to give his opinion on that.

"Well," He started after a short silence between the two of them. "Whatever you decide, let me know. I'll see what I can do to arrange a way for you to get out of the City. Bruce would have done the same."

"And I would have refused him," Selena snapped slightly, before wincing in pain. "...but in your case? I may accept. If I keep it, that is."

Jason's phone went off suddenly from his front pocket. He picked it up and saw Cass was calling. The time had clearly flown by since it was now five thirty, so she was probably wondering why he wasn't at the cave training with her until they went out that night. He swore, standing up.

"New girlfriend? Maybe Bruce has rubbed off on you more than you thought, hm?" Selena's tune suddenly changed from sad thoughts to sly teasing again.

"My partner. I'm late for training at the Cave." Jason told her, letting the call ring out, then beginning to text her. "Pass on that message to Batwoman and go through the files. Like I said before, I want you on this case with us." She did a half-assed salute to Jason before getting up and walked the opposite direction. As he texted Cass' number, she texted first a simple sentence:

 _We need to talk about Jak. It's complicated. Get here ASAP._


	14. Debate

_Author's Note: This kind of turned into a short angst chapter, which wasn't what I wanted really. Chapter 15 is planned to be much longer and filled with action and plot - I swear. Should be out by next Friday if I work on it every day._ _Until then, enjoy, I guess?_

Chapter 14: Debate

"No way."

"Listen to me Jason, I told you it was more complicated than you would the-"

"I don't care, Cass. If he's with Paladin he goes down. Plain and simple. End of discussion!"

This was not what Jason expected when came home to the Batcave. Cass contemplating bringing in her old partner from her Europe trip - _Jak Sharp_ \- into the fold, even though he was now apparently working for him.

"You're not listening to me Jason," Cass tried to reason with him. "I talked to him last night and he said that he's playing Nazerath. He might be useful!

"So you're going to believe his word, and not maybe think about the idea that he may be playing you as well? Your judgement may be a little bit biased here Cass since you two _were_ sleeping together for a while, as you mentioned yourself." Jason countered, to which Cass scowled at.

"Don't you _dare_ put my judgement of Jak into question! You haven't even met him!"

"And I don't need to! I know this play Cass because I've been there before! If we take any intel from him it could be changed like that," Jason snapped his fingers. "Trust me, Cass. The next time you see him, take him down!"

" _Why though?_ " Tim's voice interrupted their argument suddenly, then his face appeared on the screen of the Batcomputer. He'd been listening in on their conversation while at his office in Wayne Enterprises. He seemed to be frowning at Jason's point specifically, though it was hard to tell.

"Why what, Tim? I just explained it. I know this tactic, and I refuse to fall for it?"

" _Why would he play that tactic though? It doesn't make sense for him. What if he is telling the truth and is playing Nazerath? Think about this logically Jason, if Jak knows that Cass is Black Bat and he hasn't told Paladin, then that means he's at least a little bit trustworthy, doesn't it?_ "

"That's what I'm saying," Cass nodded with Tim. "If Jak is playing him, is it not in our best interest to at least see what he has to say? I'm not saying we should bring him to the Cave, but lets at least see if what he knows is good?" Jason waved that off with a large shaking of the head.

"I just got Selena Kyle to be our eye on the inside, and she gave me some intel that I want to check out tonight. And I'll need back up for it, so-"

" _-Selena Kyle?_ " Tim cut through suddenly, stifling a laugh. Jason frowned.

"Yes, what's wrong with a tip from Selena Kyle?" He asked.

" _Nothing…_ " He clearly lied. Jason could tell when Tim lied instantly. He had a tell that made him look smug as shit whenever he did - like he'd figured out something massive and was holding it back to show he was everyone's better.  
" _It's just if I told you a month ago that you were taking tips from Selena Kyle would have called bullshit and punched me in the face, is all._ "

"There is a slight irony in that, Jason, to be fair," Cass added, clearly catching on to what Tim was saying. "If you're willing to trust Catwoman, someone who has betrayed Batman multiple times for her own agenda in the past - then we should be able to trust the word of Jak."

"Do I need to remind you that Bruce and Selena's relationship went from enemies to Romantic partners in a few years?" Jason attempted to retort, with Tim laughing again.

"Again, if I told you that a month ago you would have called him a hypocrite for something like that."

"I am not the same man I was a month ago!" His head snapped up at the two of them. All of Jason's anger and stress came out all at once as if he'd been building it up for the past two weeks. He looked and pointed to Cass.  
"Maybe you're both right, and this Jak guy isn't trying to play you!" He pointed to Tim at the screen.

"Maybe I'm a hypocrite myself for suddenly trusting Selena Kyle after years of Bruce doing the same!" He pointed to himself.

"Or maybe I'm so fucking stressed about all this pressure about replacing Bruce fucking Wayne as the fucking Batman?!" Jason slammed his fist on one of the walls of the Cave, causing a small bit of dust to fall from the ceiling, as well as disturbing a few bats sleeping above. He retracted his fist slowly and unclenched, massaging his knuckles. Cass approached him slowly, but Tim spoke first.

" _Jason. I can't say I understand the pressure you're going through, but if you ever feel it again…_ "

"...Let us know." Cass finished Tim's thought process, to which he nodded in agreement. "We all want Paladin behind bars-"

"The sooner the better," Jason grunted under his breath.

" _-But if you're angry and stressed don't aim it at us._ " Tim finished Cass' point. " _That's what he'll want, even if he doesn't know it. Aim it at him, and use it to take him down. Understand?_ " He asked. Cass placed a hand on Jason's cheek for support.

"Whatever happens, we're with you. Even if we don't agree with everything you do. I'll follow you because Bruce trusted you. And if he did, then that's good enough for me."

" _Me too._ "

Jason smiled, looking up at them both, tears in his eyes. He understood why Dick called their group a Family now. Because it was true. And he'd be with them every step of the way.


	15. The Entertainment Mile

Chapter 15: The Entertainment Mile

"Careful Jason," Black Bat and Sage cautioned at the same time as they watched Batman drive the Batmobile through the streets of Gotham's Northern Isle, heading to their destination for the night. Tim continued his warnings:

" _Keep her tight to the road, Jason. Mr Fox wants notes on how the new model handles so he can work on updates while you're not using it._ " Jason smiled through his mask as he teased the acceleration peddle around a sharp corner - almost doing exactly the opposite of what Tim just advised. The Batmobile drifted around the corner with ease, and he laughed as they went into another straight.

"To be honest Sage," Jason said, reminding them to keep to their code names even when on comms. "She's a little bit happy-go-lucky in the corners."

" _Uh-huh,_ " Sage moaned into his mic. Jason had a feeling he was massaging his forehead in stress, which made him chuckle.

The team's collective mood had cheered up slightly since their debate about Cass' ex-partner a few hours earlier. After Jason calmed down from his outburst at the two of them, Cass offered to do him some meditation techniques with him to calm his mind of the stress. Not Yoga, but meditation breathing techniques to clear the mind of evil, manipulating thoughts. It wasn't like Jason didn't remember the debate, he just didn't care about it anymore, and understood the other side of the argument now. They agreed shortly before the Batmobile arrived that they would go with Selena Kyle's tip about Riddler's gang doing a subtle job in Joker's old territory tonight and the next night they would find Jak and get anything he was willing to give away. Teamwork - Jason thought - was a rather underrated thing in this family, and he planned to do it more often than Bruce did in his day.

Jason turned another corner onto the Entertainment Mile, North of Burnley Island. Before he got shipped out of Arkham and secretly moved upstate to a personal, tightly secured cell, it was commonly known as the Joker's main territory and technically still was, if you counted the few thugs who wore clown face paint and hung out in the area as basic guard dogs, but they were easy to avoid, or even takedown.

Selena hadn't given Jason a clear location to wear Riddler and his crew were doing this job, but knowing Nigma - which he unfortunately did - he knew it wouldn't be exactly subtle. Riddler's whole thing about him believing he was the smartest person in the room made him do obvious things to lead his enemies to him, just so he could gloat about how obvious he made it for them "so their puny minds could handle his genius!" He was an intellectual narcissist, simply put, which was the worst kind, because they couldn't be shut up unless you played their game. And that's what Bruce always did. Jason planned to do things differently.

"When we see him," He explained to Cass as he slowed the car down and began to find a place to hide it from the view of Riddler's gang. "Don't let him talk. Don't let him take control, just end it before he starts anything."

"Good idea," Cass nodded. "Nigma wants to be the centre of our attention, and he still thinks he's playing us like Paladin wants him and Dent too. We tell him that, and his plan will fall apart."

"No, don't talk to him either." Jason disagreed. "Don't let him know we know anything about Paladin - that doesn't matter. The only way to defeat him is to not play his game at all." He told her strictly as the Batmobile parked itself neatly behind the 'Abandoned House of Horrors' ride.  
"We're early. Let's find some high ground and wait for them to get here." Jason ordered, putting his helmet on and climbing out of his seat. As Cass followed suit, and once they were both out, Jason tapped a small code into his left gauntlet and the whole vehicle turned invisible.

"Nice touch, by the way, Sage; the invisibility," Batman mentioned as he and Black Bat grappled onto the same building's roof for higher visibility. "Was it a plan of Bruce's or…?"

" _Nope,_ " Sage added in the mic, with a background noise of typing on his laptop. " _Lucius said how he mentioned it to him a dozen times, how they had the technology for it and the how easy the upgrade would be to implement - but for some reason, Bruce didn't want it. Maybe he wanted people to know it was there as a fear tool._ "

 _Way to undermine your staff, Bruce,_ Jason thought to himself, not repeating out loud in case it offended either member he was with. As much as he'd turned a new page when it came to Bruce, he still saw how manipulative the man had been to everyone he trusted with his identity as Batman. Jason swore to himself that he wouldn't do the same, but he knew that he was bad at keeping promises.

They didn't have to wait long for three black vans spray-painted with green question marks and no registration plates to roll through the abandoned district. Black Bat gave a silent nod to Jason that she was going to find somewhere else to ambush the assumed large crowd of people that would soon exit. He moved inside the abandoned house for better cover.

" _Patching you two into their comms,_ " Sage informed the two of them. " _Use it wisely. Beginning radio silence until further notice._ "

He cut himself out of the communications. Now it was just the two of them.

All of the vans' doors slid open at the same time as if it were choreographed for a film. A dozen thugs each stepped out, eighteen armed with automatic weapons, the other eighteen carrying with ones intended for a closer range. Jason assumed Cass would count the same - and would follow his lead by taking them down.

"Alright, riddle me this, guys," One of the thugs from the first van started speaking, the crowd around him groaning. Was he their leader or just over-eager to tell riddles? Maybe both? Either way, he would probably be useful as an informant through intimidation if Riddler didn't show. "Riddle me this," He continued.

"What demands an answer, but don't ask no questions?" He asked the whole group, though it was clear not many wanted to take place in it. They were spreading out in groups of six; each group with three guns and three clubbing weapons.

" _C'mon, answer!_ " The riddle-wannabe asked over the radio, repeating the question, albeit with better grammar.

" _Who cares?_ " Someone shouted back on the same channel.

" _I do. The boss does. Hell, maybe the boss' boss does? I'm just practising' s'all._ " The wannabe returned.

" _Well, we don't give a shit. Riddler doesn't want us askin' questions 'cause that's his job for the Bat._ "

" _Yeah, and speaking of which, look out for him and this Batgirl-wannabe._ " Another member of a different group changed the subject back to their job. Jason doubted they wouldn't check the inside of each old ride - they weren't that stupid - but he knew he had to move soon and start picking them off. He looked out the window to see if any of them were patrolling the area and could see him. To his luck, there were, but Cass seemed to be preparing to deal with them via an ambush. Jason decided to use another window and do the same. A squad was halfway through lapping the building he was in now and were at risk of discovering the Batmobile. Though even if they did, it's defensive protocols would act on its own.

 _Actually,_ Jason thought to himself, _That may not be a bad idea…_

"So when's the boss s'posed to show?" Actual chatter from the mob he was looking at. Jason tapped into the car's dash-cam and watched them talk so he knew when the time was right.

"I heard he wasn't 'till Catwoman 'convinced him'. Damn, I wish I was that lucky."

"Don't get your hopes up. When I used to work for Penguin, a buddy of mine tried to grab her ass for a sec. She slashed his fuckin' neck out there and then. I watched him die right there, and she just walked off like it was nothin'. Cobblepot let it slide too, said it was better to let her have the one kill and not trash the place." The group collectively shuddered.

"So what? Don't touch the merchandise unless she asks first?"

"Basically. Plus I doubt she fucked the boss. From what I heard he ain't her type."

There was a pause as the thug point two fingers on each hand to the sky and impersonated the old Batman's grizzly voice.  
" **Oh, Catwoman! Right there! Right there! Don't stop, dammit!** "

The rest of the group stopped paying attention to watch his impression of Batman getting a blowjob from Catwoman and laugh. Jason would have laughed too if they weren't working for an egotistical murderer. He minimised the dash-cam and activated the automatic mode, turning off the invisibility and shining the headlights at the group straight ahead of it.

He watched their reactions through the camera, and it was safe to say that they were scared shitless.

"Fuck! The Batmobiles fucking-" Before the impersonator could finish his sentence and react and grab his automatic, Jason shot out four stun shots from the car's tesla-guns, stunning each of its targets and putting them to the ground - unconscious - in seconds. The remaining three, all armed with close ranged weapons ran the other way. Jason smiled as he went out of the car's control and jumped out of the boarded up window above them.

It took seconds to deal with them too. Jason landed on the one in the front and jabbed him in the throat to shut him up, then threw two batarangs at the others and let their mild explosions put them to the floor with ease.

" _What was that? Team Three, respond!_ " The same voice of the Riddling Wannabe from earlier ordered through the radio as he collected the two throwables. _Was he their commander after all?_ That didn't matter. Jason activated the Batmobiles invisibility once again and grappled out of site on the ground level, heading up to a different building. The radio buzzed again as he positioned himself.

" _Teams Two and Four, investigate Team Three's radio silence. Teams Five and Six continue your patrols. Rendezvous back at the vans in ten minutes. Stay alert, dammit. The Bats may be about and Riddler don't want any mistakes made tonight._ " The other teams radioed their understandings of the orders one at a time. Once the radio clicked off for the last time, Jason switched channels to the one for him, Cass and Sage.

"Cass, status update?"

" _Watching their fourth team and about to engage them,_ " She replied in a hushed voice. " _You?_ "

"I took down Team Two with the Batmobile," He laughed slightly. "It was awesome. I'll stand by while you engage. Update me when you're done."

" _Copy._ " Cass' radio switched off and Jason scanned the area again as he waited. He could hear Black Bat engaging with Team Two half a kilometre away, but focused on a new vehicle approaching the same way the Teams' vans did. But this one was different. Instead of black with spray paint all over it, the car was entirely wrapped in Riddler's usual neon green colour. On the same Channel, Jason spoke to Tim.

"Sage, you seeing that?"

" _Uh yeah,_ " Tim replied, stifling a laugh. " _Jeez, he really doesn't have a sense of style, does he?_ "

"No, but he does have a bunch of Yes-men who'll do anything to make sure he doesn't use them in his riddles." The car pulled over, only for the Riddler to run out of the back door and into the building and the car to drive off. The sounds of Cass' fight with Team Four had ended, and Cass spoke up again as the car passed her.

"Calling back in, Team four is- _Is that Riddler's car?!_ "

"Yes," Jason responded quickly. "But it just dropped him off and he ran inside the building. Don't chase it."

" _I'll send an image of it to the GCPD,_ " Sage added. " _Go, deal with Riddler while his teams are still searching. Their radio lines are full of panic from the remaining teams._ "

" _I'll keep that fear up, Jason._ " Cass decided. Jason saw her grapple up onto the same building they were on earlier. " _You deal with Nigma like you said you would._ "

"Copy that, but be quick about it. Knowing him, he won't let me shut him up without a fight."

Jason grappled over to the building Riddler ran into and quietly walked along the rooftop to find a better entrance than the front door. Coincidently, a window happened to be left open in the exact right way for him to slip down into and sneak up to Nigma, who also happened to be working on something at a large computer monitor. But after a closer look, Jason snorted. You didn't have to be a detective to realise that it was an obvious trap. He watched the figure at the monitor closely from the window and noticed that he was simply typing gibberish on the computer - more specifically the same sentence over and over again:

A LEATHERY SNAKE WITH A STINGING BITE, COILED UP. I WAIT UNTIL I MUST FIGHT - WHAT AM I?

Not many people knew this, but Jason was actually a fan of Riddles and brain-teasers. He always felt like in another timeline Nigma could have used his own interest in games and puzzles to his advantage and become an entertainer of some kind. But as always with someone smarter than average who grew up in Gotham poor, their parents' abuse drove them down the wrong path. Jason took a moment to consider the question the figure was typing over and over again.

 _A leathery snake with a stinging bite coiled up… A whip!_

It was easy once he thought about it, so that meant there were more. Or the Riddler was trying to make a broader point. Either way, Jason knew he had to face him. The trap was obvious, but he had to spring it. He threw down two smoke pellets first. Whoever was at the monitor would notice the cloud and expect something from it, and Jason would deliver - but not where they thought.

The cloud of smoke slowly grew out in the room, which Jason used as cover to move around into an ambush position. As the smoke began to fade out, the figure stopped his typing and turned around - confirming Jason's suspicions. It was not Nigma, but one of his Riddle-Bot, with a small screen attached to its face, with the **real** Riddler on it, watching live. He was sat down in an armchair, his left hand stroking his chin as his face looked bored.

" _Well well, Dark Knight,_ " Nigma spoke as he watched the smoke cloud dissipate. " _I congratulate you on getting past my squadrons. Of course, that I knew you would, they were all idiots who only came to me because they believed being around me would make them smarter. How wrong they were._ " It seemed to be a live feed Riddler was speaking into as there was a camera on top of the Riddle-Bot's small screen. He could probably see everything the Bot could see. The smoke finally cleared and Nigma saw that Jason wasn't present within it, and sighed as if disappointed.

" _Oh Dark Knight, there is no point in hiding from me when I know you're in the room. Your predecessor knew that I assumed you would do the same. Oh well, if you're as dimwitted as he was I doubt you'll be able to figure out the riddle I've had this bot type-_ "

Jason interrupted Nigma mid-sentence as he ripped off the Riddle-Bot's head along with the screen, prematurely shutting down the broadcast.

"The answer is a whip, Nigma." He quipped to the robot's non-functioning body, only to hear a sudden metallic clapping from multiple angles. He turned to see a second third and fourth Riddle-Bot, all with the same broadcast of Nigma. Jason could see now on both of his hands were remote control gloves for the bots - and that he was the one making them all slow-clap. Jason rolled his eyes through his helmet. Clearly, Riddler has thought this through. The metallic clapping stopped as Nigma stopped, though the three Riddle-Bots still copied his hand movements as he spoke again.

" _Well done, 'Batman'. You destroyed one of my many Riddle-Bots and answered the irrelevant part of my question._ " Nigma chided.

"What are you talking about Nigma? This entire place is pointless if you're too cowardly to show your face when you kill me!" Jason countered quickly, ignoring the use of finger quotes when he called him Batman. Riddler only gave a sly smile in return.

" _Wrong again, Dark Knight! I never planned on killing you in the first place._ " His hands clasped together as he sat back down in his armchair, the bots no longer copying his movements. " _Anyway, the question you solved is irrelevant. The real riddle of tonight, 'Batman', is who is being stung by said Whip?_ " Riddler proposed a smirk of superiority emerging. Jason frowned in his helmet, but thanks to its mouthless feature he wouldn't seem like he gave a damn.

" _Clueless? Let me give you a hint then,_ " Nigma said, taking a remote with a single button on it and pressing down on it. As he did so, Jason felt a large rumbling from under his feet, along with a half-familiar voice screaming in agony. Riddler's smile widened as his hand left the remote and began waving it.

" _Like I said, 'Batman', I never planned on killing you myself. I plan on the whipped to do it for me._ " He pressed the same button again, with a repetition of the noise from before as well as the trap door under Jason's feet opening up and dropping him down to the source.

It being the hulking figure of an overdosed Bane on Venom.

"...Fuck!"

 _Cliffhanger! Jason Todd versus Bane! What will happen next? I know but won't start writing it until I've moved into my flat at my University in just under two weeks. From there, the schedule will move to (hopefully) one chapter a week. If not, then I'll figure something else out. I hope not to go dark on this and leave it on the cliffhanger, but I don't know my future, so whatever happens, blame the school. As always reviews - from constructive criticism to praise - are welcome and help me to keep working on this. Voice your opinions guys, I want to hear from you!_

 _Until next time, I've been Chewbaxter. :D_


	16. Bane

Chapter 16: Bane

"So, Tim...?"

" _Yeah, Jason?_ "

"Any tips when it comes to beating Bane?"

" _What, you don't remember?_ "

"I try to forget the beatings he's given us, in general, to be honest,"

" _Fair enough let me- Watch out!_ "

Bane roared at Jason as he charged at his current position. He dodged the attack noticing the machinery he happened to be hooked up to was feeding him some kind of liquid. But unusually it did not look like the normal Venom that Bane was so addicted to. Sage seemed to notice it too, calling out: _Get a sample of that liquid, whatever it is,_ to Jason as he narrowly avoided the beast of a man's charge attack.

"CRUSH YOU!" Bane screamed as he turned to aim for another attack. "¡MATAR PARA EL MAESTRO!" His oversized, monster-like arms raised in the air before they crashed down on Jason, who took the pain on completely. He then attempted to roll away from Bane, so he could start to rethink his strategy.

" _Jason, still need that advice?_ " Tim asked sarcastically while he got back up and watched the looming beast turn to face Jason again. He didn't reply though, as he was out of breath. Tim took that as a sign to continue anyway.

" _He's hooked up to those pipes that are feeding him Venom, and clearly he's gone mad with the amount that's in his body. Cut him loose and you might slow him down._ "

"Won't that just kill me quicker?"

" _You got a better plan?_ "

"No, but how exactly am I meant to 'cut him loose'?"

" _Embrace Damian._ "

In his helmet, Jason smiled. Bane charged at him once more; and Batman slid under his legs half-way through it, making him crash into the wall with both of his fists buried into it. Jason recovered quickly and smiled as he watched the hypnotised brute attempt to get his fists out - but evidently, whatever Bane had been brainwashed with had made him forget his own strength. With that in mind, he did as Sage said he should do and 'embraced' _Damian_ \- a retractable Katana-like blade that Tim had found and made for him as a back-up.

Now was the perfect time to test it out in the field.

Finally recovering from his buried fists, Bane turned and charged Jason again, unsuspecting of the thing he now held in his hand. As he charged, Jason flicked the switch on the handle, the blade quickly building itself out so he could position himself properly. As Bane got closer, he side-stepped back and swung from his right to the left, cutting the main pipe feeding the Venom into his system.

"KIYA!" Jason shouted as he struck the target.

"AARRGHH! Te mato por eso, Bate!" Bane screamed as he felt the last drops of the Venom enter his system, no longer powered by the drug he was oh-so addicted too.

" _I think you got his attention again."_ Sage quipped quickly.

"Shut up and call out where I need to hit him!" Jason shouted back into his com as Bane beat his chest like an angry silverback gorilla, preparing to crush him with his hulking arms. He managed to move out of the way for the initial attack, but clearly, Bane wasn't as drunk on the Venom as he looked, as his recovery was quick enough to catch Jason off guard shortly afterwards, putting him back to the ground.

" _His forearm!_ " Sage shouted as the Monster of a man began to wind up for a second attempt of an attack, to which Jason responded quickly too by rolling with the blade in his hand and waiting for Bane's arms to smash where he was. Once he slammed the ground again, he struck true with _Damian_ at Bane's forearm with both of his hands. It wasn't as bad this time as Bane didn't react the same, but even so, Jason smiled. He was enjoying this more than he should be, which reminded him that it wasn't over until the Luchador was completely down and out, and not before.

" _Black Bat to Batman!_ " The sudden voice of Black Bat rang in Jason's ear. " _Come in. Where are you?_ "

"Oh, hey Cass!" He replied in a restrained sense, as her voice had distracted him enough for Bane to grab him and was in the process of crushing him slowly.

"Could… Use a little- Ah…! ...Hand here- UGH shit!"

Bane's laughter grew slowly as he used his arms to crush Jason's body. In his left ear, he could hear Cass' heavy breathing and presumed she was trying to find where they were. In the other, a distant Sage at a different mic giving her directions. He was on his own when it came to getting out of the lock. He had _Damian_ in his hand, but all he could do with it, for now, was clutch on to it as tight as possible that he wouldn't drop it.

"Guys! I-if you have a plan… Hurry the fuck up!"

" _Brace for impact!_ " Black Bat shouted as she leapt down the trap door Jason had fallen through earlier - and from the sound, he heard once she disappeared from his sight, she had slashed at Bane's back with her own sword. A hit that he _clearly_ felt and Jason used to get out of the brute's grip, back-flipping, sticking the landing and stepping back from his opponent so he could get in a new combat stance. But it seemed that Bane was getting used to the pain of being hit with a sharp sword, as his recovery was quick, and his reaction was quicker. He spun with his clenched fist heading toward Cass with all his might behind the punch. Luckily, she was faster and had Sage in her ear, using the opportunity to cut another strike into his good arm as she slid under him and joined back up with Jason, matching his stance with a similar one.

"Nice sword," She commented, looking Jason up and down. He could sense that she had a smirk on her face inside of that helmet of yours. "You look tired, by the way."

"Thanks. It's hard work fighting a guy that's so doped up on so much Venom he can only speak in his mother tongue." He countered while also giving information back to her. Bane was recovering again as they spoke to each other, turning back around to charge once more.

"Hmm, I'm similar but in a more, intimate way," Cass said with an innuendo-like tone which Jason thought was flirting. Which distracted him enough to focus more on a comeback than Bane's fist slammed Cass to the back wall. Once he realised it was too late, he swung _Damian_ in three different spots. The first followed the same place he had struck on Bane's arm before, opening the wound wider and distracting him enough for his second attack; a heavy slash to his stomach. Heavy enough to trigger Bane's instinctual reaction of trying to stop the bleeding, which gave Jason time to move behind him and go for his strike: a slash at the back of his bent knees - finally putting him down to the ground with a painful scream.

"Matarte... Te matare…" Bane mumbled to himself as he began to fade out of consciousness. That was enough for Jason to move over to Cass, who had recovered slightly but was wincing under her helmet.

"Cass," He said as he moved up to her. "You okay?"

"Fine... " She lied, flinching as he touched her shoulder. "Okay, maybe something broke there." She tried to laugh it off, the shock clearly getting to her.

"Sage, call the-"

" _-Already done. GCPD have sent cars with Gordon leading the charge, along with ambulances behind. Gave 'em a warning about Bane too._ "

"Good call. Black Bat has a broken collarbone and is in shock," Jason replied, taking his helmet off for a moment with Cass so they could have a quick breather in peace. "Let Gordon know where Bane is and that his condition is possibly critical. We have to be gone soon."

" _Copy. Sending the Batmobile to you. Sage out._ " Jason took a long breath of air as Tim signed off his mic.

"I'm so glad I quit smoking before this gig." He joked, his heart pumping fast. Cass laughed slightly, taking a moment to do the same.

"Very glad to know…" She suddenly winced. "Ow, starting to feel the pain now…"

"C'mon," He said, helping her up and moving up to the hole in the ceiling for Riddler's trap door. They grappled up together and slowly made their way out of the building. All of the Riddler-Bots were in shreds across the floor, and the computer that the original Riddler-Bot Jason had destroyed beforehand was completely gone. He smiled as they walked out together.

"Good job, Cass. Ten out of Ten." He said once the Batmobile had arrived outside the building and he helped Cass in the passenger's side. He could hear Police and Ambulance sirens on the Southern bridge, getting closer as he entered the car himself.

"Cheers Jay… You- Oof, you weren't so bad yourself," She replied, trying not to touch her injury too much as she leaned over, placing her head on his shoulder. Jason started the Batmobile up and ordered it to take them home to the Cave, then he returned Cass' gesture of affection with his own, being careful as he placed his arm around her shoulder.

Before they left the car in the cave, Cass kissed him on the cheek as thanks.

Jason's heart leapt during and afterwards.

 _I'M BAAACK. What's up guys, it's been a month and a bit but I'm here, with an update and another twist to the story! That JayCass spark! A budding romance! What will happen next with Cass out of action? Questions all to be answered!_

 _Now I know in the last chapter I said I was gonna start doing a "1 chapter every week" thing, but I'll be honest, I doubt I will stick to that. So I'm gonna call it now and say that from now on, I update when I update. I will always be working on chapters, this story and AU in general - I love it way too much to abandon it - but I do have work outside of this that is also on my metaphorical plate. So when an update comes, hopefully, you'll know and catch up._

 _As always, leaving reviews and thoughts on the story so far helps me know that people are reading and enjoying this outside of the people I share it too. R &Ring is important guys, please do show that love! I'll see you guys in the next chapter or two! _


	17. Disgusting Evidence

Chapter 17: Disgusting Evidence.

"Hola mi amigo! Back again I see? You want your usual, Black Latte?" The Steamed Bean Barista asked Jason as he came first in line.

"Yes please, thank you. Can I also get a slice of that pie of the day I see on the board?"

"Si! I'll cut you up a piece and get that coffee ready for you. Usual table?" The Latino man asked, writing down the name 'Peter Hood' on a recyclable take-away cup.

"Not this time," 'Peter' shook his head, gesturing to a different table. Tim was sitting at it, tucking into a meal of his own. "I'm here with a friend."

"Good to know you have them," The barista joked, setting up the contactless card setting on the cash machine as his customer waved it. Once paid, the continued: "I'll call you when your order is ready!"

Jason smiled at the friendly man as he walked off to the table Tim sat at, grabbing a packet of sugar on the way there and sitting down opposite. Tim smirked as he finished chewing on his most recent bite.

"You know him?"

"I've been coming here a lot since our meeting with Clark and Diana for some reason." He explained, getting comfortable in the cushioned seat. "That guy has served me every time, knows my order and everything. He even chatted with me once when he was on a break."

"Know his name?"

Jason nodded. "Luca."

"Luca…?"

" _Luca Nazerath_."

"Ah. Jesús' son I presume." Another nod.

"So we have a link to Paladin through him? What are you gonna do, join up with Paladin as Peter Hood?" Tim asked, sipping his own coffee from an actual cup, before taking the sugar packet Jason grabbed and adding more. Jason rolled his eyes and grabbed it back after he added half of it.

"No, don't be stupid. That's something Red Hood would do, true. But I've been here a lot in the past, what? Week? Two at best? I think-"

"-Ey, Mr Peter! Order up!"

"BRB, this will help my point." Tim looked visibly hurt that Jason said "BRB" to him as he got up to get his coffee and pie of the day. He continued to stare at Jason with this same look until he returned and continued their conversation.

"You were saying…?"

"Yes," He began again, stirring the other half of the sugar packet into his own coffee. Then he pointed at the cup. "I think there's something in this coffee." Tim scowled, looking at his own cup."

"What do you mean? It's just an independent Spanish Family selling their traditional Coffee at a cheaper than usual price."

"Something Cass saw multiple times when she was watching them over in Europe," Jason explained, pulling out a file of evidence Cass had collected in her own investigations. It was full of evidence backing his theory up and he showed this to Tim clearly. "They do the same operation every time, set up a small family diner, bar, cafe; showing that it's independent and they are friendly to all the customer's drawing them into the place and becoming friendly with returning guests. Then after the place becomes popular, they start slipping something in the drinks. Something that gets people to not only keep coming back for more but wanting something else with it: wanting the be with the family running the place."

"...And that's how Paladin gains his followers when he packs the place up and goes to the next town." Tim finished, looking through the file himself, making sure to hide it from the view of the cafe owners field of view.

"Right," Jason nodded. "He doesn't need many, just enough to move with him so he can build a small army - or as Cass called it, a cult."

"There is a lot of proof here," Drake agreed, finishing the file and handing it back. "Why haven't you handed it off to Gordon?"

"I did. He agrees. But I don't have a link to him as Paladin. Until we get that Gordon can't start an investigation." He sighed, drinking the coffee. "Besides, Nazerath's watching us closely thanks to her 'friend' on the inside." Again, Tim frowned.

"You still think Jak's playing her?" He asked.

"I don't know him, so I don't trust him. You'd be wise to have a similar technique with him until we get his story straight. In fact, Batman might try and sort that tonight." Jason said, tucking into the pie slowly. He was being careful as he ate and drank the food they had given him and had made a mental note to tell Tim if he felt any different while eating and another to stop eating here after today.

"You have a more important meeting first tonight," Drake reminded him, taking out a small calling card from his pocket. It was a simple card with a Cat paw on one side, and a single word on the other. The word read: "TONIGHT."

"Selena? Why'd she go to you when she knows me?"

"Probably thinks you work with me all the time as my security or something. She saw us onstage together at the Funeral. It's an easy connection between the two." Tim explained his deductions. "But what does she mean by it?"

"Tonight? She wants me to meet with her and the others she's been talking to. The Outsiders."

"Really? I thought they broke up a year ago?"

"Majority of the old team isn't returning, but Selena told me that Batwoman, The Question and Huntress were all in the idea of reforming," Jason replied. "She's willing to a part of it, and I have an idea that I'll be running by Dick when I visit him later."

"I don't know if he'll want to talk about anything hero-y just yet Jason. He just said goodbye to Barbara, and no you're gonna ask him to join a team once he's recovered? Seems like you may be taking advantage of him slightly."

"Whatever his choice is, I'll back him. I'll just be telling him my idea. He can deny me there and then if he wants to, or he can have time to settle his choices." Jason said, taking a moment to savour his pie completely before continuing. "I'm not Bruce. I won't bully him or put an idea in his head that he won't get out until he agrees to it. If he wants out, he'll be out. End of story."

"If you say so," Tim slowly nodded in agreement, cautious all the same. His watch alarm then beeped suddenly, and he went to look at it. The smart-watch alarm turned off but showed a message: "MEETING AT 2. IMPORTANT. SHAREHOLDERS!".

Tim swore to himself.

"I have to get going. No clue how Bruce worked at his company while being Batman." Jason resisted the urge to say "he didn't" as a quip. Instead, he offered to walk him to the office, picking up his coffee cup in preparation. Tim shook his head though, rolling his chair out and positioning it so it would go to the exit.

"If you want to talk to Dick it'd be inconvenient if you joined me. Don't worry, I can call a car to pick me up. You get to Gotham Central. He needs all the company he can get." Jason agreed but walked out with him anyway, cup still in hand. He looked to Luca, who smiled at him quickly before he got his mother's attention. Jason continued to leave the building, but he did listen in on a small snippet of their conversation in Spanish:

" _Mom, when is Dad back?_ "

" _Not till late Luca, you know why. Now take your brake and go get your sister, or I'll take your overtime away._ "

" _Aw but Mom, I…_ "

Looking at Luca's reaction as his mother told him to go find his sister, Jason was surprised at how shocked he looked with this instruction. If he remembered correctly, Cass said that the brothers treat their sister like crap, beating her, as if she's not their sister but a toy. More to the point, he remembered Cass saying that Nazerath encouraged it. That was more than enough motive for him to investigate now. Jason informed Tim of what he was doing before ducking into a corner alley and pulled out his utility belt out of a bag.

"Never leave home without it," He mumbled the first rule Bruce taught him when he became Robin all those years ago. Using his grapple he easily zipped up to the top of the building next to the Steamed Bean, perching as he looked around his belts pockets for what he needed. When he found it, he first installed an earpiece into his head, then threw a small disc towards the window opposite. The disc was audio-based and could pick up everything on the floor of the window. Jason tuned it to the correct frequency and waited for what he wanted to listen in on.

First, he heard the sound of a girl mumbling along to a song she was listening too. It was too hard to hear from the audio, so Jason assumed she had headphones in. Then a new noise; A banging at the door and Luca's voice, again speaking Spanish.

" _Hey, Rooosaaa! It's your shift. Hurry up and move down there before I get César to slap you up like he did last night!_ " He shouted through the door. Rosá's music was paused. Jason could hear her sigh as she got off of her bed and walked to the door. She replied in English after opening her door.

"I'll be down soon. Tell mom I'm finishing my homework." Luca snorted.

" _Whatever, brat. Just hurry up._ " The door slammed in his face, then Rosá turned her music back on. Jason turned off the earpiece after, confirming the recording of the conversation before jumping down to the ground and making his way to Gotham Central Hospital. He wasn't glad of what he just heard, but it was a good piece of evidence for Cass' case. A horrible piece, but one all the same.


	18. Decisions Decisions

Chapter 18: Decisions Decisions…

The hospital room Dick was in was different to last time. Tim has upgraded him to a more private area, where he could practise walking at his own pace, even without a nurse or doctor watching. Jason couldn't help but wonder if he was just taking his time as an excuse to have some space from everyone else, but he did ask. It was Dick, and he was always happy to see his family. As he was happy to see him enter the room with the nurse that guided him.

"Jay- I mean, Pete! Good to see you again!" He happened to be eating a basic hospital lunch on a table-tray when they entered. "Please, grab a chair, get a bite to eat if you haven't. I'm just finishing mine lunch then we'll talk properly." He said, wiping his mouth with a paper towel next to his empty plate. Jason smiled and sat down next to the bed. He hadn't seen him for a few days but he couldn't help but notice that Dick was growing his hair out. His famous black hair was already longer than his usual cut. He couldn't guess how long he was aiming for, and there wasn't a point in asking, so he dropped it before it began. The nurse asked if Dick needed anything else, which he didn't, and left promptly. Once they were alone, Jason finally spoke.

"Enjoying the engaged life?" Dick's mood became less cheerful suddenly.

"I would be more if I knew that Barb wasn't going to be risking her life as your Justice League replacement." He grumbled.

"It's not permanent, Dick. It's only until I think Gotham is back on its feet. She'll be there for six months, a year at the most."

"A lot can happen in that time Jay, we both that." He countered, looking very worried about his fiancée. "If something happens to her again..."

"Barb's not an idiot, Dick. You of all people should know that. I'm sure she can look out for herself while she works with them. Plus she has the Batcave in speed dial. If she feels like she is in trouble or something is wrong, I'm happy to go and get her myself. Or, you can. Once you're out." Jason replied, changing the subject to one Dick knew he would come back to the moment he stepped into the room.

"If I come back," He said, cautious of his words. "It won't be completely. It'll be more… part-time. Once I'm back home in Blüdhaven, I'll be working with the police more than I will as Nightwing. I was up for a promotion to Sergeant before the explosion. I accepted it the day before actually." Jason watched Dick's mind processing his thoughts. He nodded slowly.

"Whatever you do Dick, I'm behind you on it." He said at last, as a way to comfort him. "No tricks, no manipulation. I'll be 100% with you." Dick smiled.

"I'm sensing that you do have something in mind for me though…?" He asked, spotting the file poking out his bag. Jason laughed slightly and took it out, nodding.

"Okay, maybe not 100% right away," He said, giving the file to Dick so he could have a look. "Besides this is something different to the Paladin case." He started.

"'The Outsiders'." Dick read aloud. "You're getting them back together?" He asked.

"No, but I'm helping them along. Catwoman may be taking charge of it though since she first told me about it. I'm meeting the others tonight to give out assignments." Jason explained. "They'll be working out of Blüdhaven while you're away but…" He left himself on a cliffhanger.

"You think I could join up with them after I'm fit enough to make a return?" Dick finished the thought with crossed arms. Jason gave an unsure smile.

"I'll think about it." He finally finished after tea the file over for a long moment. "No promises."

"Agreed. Like I said, whatever you decide I'm behind you. Just giving you multiple options." Jason reconfirmed, though Dick nodded like it didn't need repeating.

The rest of their conversation was on the plans for the wedding, honeymoon and anything beyond. Dick and Barbara had already been talking about this before they went public with the engagement and had decided that it would be fairly private, but not traditional.

"Babs isn't ready for making any solid plans yet. I think we'll start preparing once I'm fully recovered." He said, which made sense in Jason's head. Dick also mentioned that they were thinking of if doing it abroad as well. "Somewhere Hot, or at least warmer than usual I'm the winter. That was my idea. We want to share the honeymoon with the guests."

"A little expensive don't you think?" Jason wondered.

"That's why the guest list will be small," Dick replied. "A few League members, The Titans, and the rest of the Batfam." He put his hand on Jason's arm. "I look forward to your speech." He was taken aback.

"You mean…?" Dick nodded.

"Those tabloids predicting Best Men were right. You, Tim and Roy Harper. You and Roy will do speeches, Tim will be in charge of our budgets." Tears formed in Jason's eyes. He took Dick's hand and accepted graciously, thanking him as well.

"I'll have to dig out my old slideshow pictures," He joked, referring to some old pictures he got if Dick in his old Nightwing suits. "I'm sure Mrs Grayson will be pleased to know I still have them on my old laptop." Dick laughed, his eyes showing excitement for it.

"I'll let her know you're excited. Roy was too." He grinned happily. "It's going to be great all around." Soon after, the Nurse that showed Jason in earlier popped his head in, warning him that visiting hours were almost over. He nodded and started packing up slowly.

"So after the wedding and honeymoon happen and you're back in Gotham, what's the plan? Gonna 'continue the Wayne Legacy'?" He asked, imitating Commissioner Gordon slightly as he quoted him. Dick allowed it but took a moment to think it over.

"It'll be High in our list, yeah." He confirmed with a cheeky smirk. "I'll be honest, I can't wait for it." He admitted, sitting up slightly as Jason stood by the door, watching the clock slowly.

"You thought of names? For kids?" He asked, cringing immediately. "Probably too early to ask actually…" But Dick smiled anyway.

"I have actually. Been texting Barb some potential ideas. We agreed that we want to honour Bruce and the Wayne family in some way. But then she pointed out that 'Bruce Wayne Grayson' seemed a bit on the nose." He thought aloud. Jason shrugged.

"Who said you had to use Bruce's name? Honour the men you… _We_ grew up with doesn't mean you have to use the name of him specifically." He thought for a moment, then smiled as one came to mind. "How about, if you have a son, you name him after Alfred and Damian. And if you have a girl… Bruce and your mother?"

"Alfred Damian Grayson… Martha Mary Grayson…" Dick repeated the names Jason was suggesting. He nodded. "I like Alfred Grayson. Rolls off the tongue. Plus, it helps me cause I wanted to include Damian in the name somewhere."

"Knowing you, you'll nickname him Freddy or something," Jason said without thinking. Dick laughed anyway.

"Ha! Freddy Grayson! Now that's a name I could get behind. Not sure Babs will, but we'll see. Thanks, Jason, that cheered me up. It'll help for tonight." Jason frowned as the nurse appeared again to usher him out shortly.

"Tonight? What's happening tonight?" He asked. Dick pointed to his right arm, which he had barely moved throughout their conversation.

"Tonight's the main operation for this one's replacement." He said in a way that was both nervous and excited. "Wayne Tech, man. They're doing wonders." Jason laughed but caught a side of that nervousness with it.

"I'll see you around, Dick. Good luck with the operation," he said as the Nurse began to insist that they left, the church bells close by to the hospital ringing as the hour changed.

"And good luck in your project tonight," Dick replied, waving him off. "And be careful. You'll need it around them!"

Jason smiled. Dick always knew how to make him smile.


	19. Back Up

Chapter 19: Back Up

Jason trained alone for the rest of the day back at his apartment before heading out to meet with Selena. With Cass injured, she had decided to sit out of the negotiations. Even everyone in the "Bat-Family" seemed to heal remarkably quickly, she seemed to welcome the broken collarbone for some reason.

"It will give me some time to think about… Some things on my mind. In private." As much as Jason could respect that, he couldn't help but wonder what those things were specifically. Cass was usually so open about this sort of thing, especially towards Bruce and Barbara. He couldn't help but feel abandoned slightly - and yet he knew he wasn't since he had seen both Dick and Tim today.

Still, punching a bag and going through training sims helped him clear his head, as did a bit of target practice with the weapons he kept in his armoury for safe keeping. His reasoning for this was simple: _Batman doesn't use guns, but Peter Hood? He's an open book and I intend to be its author._ The public saw him as hired security for Tim and Dick, then Jason figured he'd play the part. He already looked it when he went out; the suit, the earpiece, a pair of shades he used to wear back in the day. Plus it meant he could show his face more, feel the sun. So the gear would stay for now. Locked up tight, with a high-security system like the Batcave's, so only he could access it when it was needed. Which he hoped it wouldn't be, but knowing the life he was in, it was unlikely.

That night, after he finally got some sleep in his bed, Jason - as Batman - headed out to meet with Selina Kyle - Catwoman - for the meeting of the new Outsiders team she talked with him about. He didn't have much to go on when it came to location - Selina didn't offer to mention one when they spoke - but he figured a good meeting point was the roof _Batman_ met _Catwoman_ all those years ago. From what he knew of their relationship, Bruce used it a lot too whenever they met up to talk, so it made sense to continue the tradition. But as Jason landed on the rooftop in question and looked around, he spotted Selina in the corner, waiting for him anyway.

"Hm, you're earlier than I thought you would be," She said in her ever-present Femme Fatale tone. Jason didn't bother activating the voice sequencer in his helmet, as she already knew what he sounded like.

"What, how long did you expect me to take?" He asked, standing as neutral as possible as she made her way towards him. Jason knew that Selina liked to change her outfit a lot as a way to make sure she didn't get caught out too often, and tonight was no exception. Instead of the usual skin-tight, black leather suit, she had a colour theme of black and red, the material is more combative and tactical instead of based around seduction. She also had a red scarf on her shoulders as a makeshift mask to protect her face and identity, even though the GCPD probably still had it on record. Overall, it looked good. You couldn't even tell she had a bun in the oven.

"About half an hour more, maybe longer," Selina answered Jason's question in a teasing tone. "I had no idea you were intimate with Bruce and I's meeting spot…"

"I wasn't, but I looked into it since you didn't give a meeting point," He tried to explain, but clearly she had moved on, walking away and pulling her scarf around her face to prepare for a leap and jump off the building. Jason assumed this was Selina getting to the point straight away and followed suit, following her basic path on different buildings. Though he was focusing on following her, Jason did notice the GCPD in the background, pausing for a moment out of habit to check they weren't putting up the Bat-Signal. It wasn't, but he could spot Jim Gordon on the rooftop anyway, sneaking a smoke in before his usual shift was done. Surprisingly, Gotham was relatively quiet. There were sirens blaring in the streets below, but it wasn't as if there was a crisis every night that needed all hands on deck.

It wasn't a comic book.

"Hurry up, Jay!" Selina called out to him, gesturing him on as she stood on a rooftop opposite, tapping her foot impatiently. "You know that they're not ones to have time wasted."

"True," Jason said as he swung across to join her. "But I prefer to be fashionably late, don't you?" She gave a single laugh before continuing leading him, sticking closer than before as they reached the meeting point. It was a few blocks out from GCPD, but when they arrived it seemed only one of the three were there. That one was The Question, also known as Detective Renee Montoya. She too was wearing a new look, although Jason barely knew the old one if he was being honest with himself. Her clothing was semi-formal, with the classic Noir Detective long-coat look, though it was coloured dark purple and not in a blue or grey. She also had a waistcoat and a loose tie around her shirt collar. Her body language looked as if she had other things to be doing, though it was impossible for Jason to read her any further thanks to her weird no-face-mask-thing. The Question looked both Batman and Catwoman up and down before she said:

"Nice suits. You're earlier than I thought you'd be."

"Where are the others?" Batman asked, skipping the compliments and seeming like he wanted to get to the point, his voice sequencer back on. Question scoffed.

"Batwoman will be here soon. No clue if Huntress is actually showing or not."

"I thought you knew her."

"Vic Sage knew her… intimately," She said, then gesturing at her body. "Do I look like Vic Sage to you?"

"I don't have time to wait longer than we have too." Batman tried to move along again, but Question didn't seem to be done, stepping forward.

"Don't you? Cause we're still waiting for you to find the one that's really responsible for the bombs at Wayne Manor." She proposed.

"That case is being worked on tonight _after_ this is done."

"Good," A new voice interrupted them both. Everyone present turned to see both Huntress - Helena Bertinelli - and Batwoman - Kate Kane - present; the former in her old wear, the latter in a new, up-to-date suit. Batwoman continued talking as she and Huntress jumped down: "Cause we all want in on it."

"Negative," Batman said firmly, shaking his head. If you want to be the Outsiders, then I need you Outside of Gotham." He stated. "No pun intended." Adding in a failed attempt to lighten the mood slightly. None of the ladies took to it.

"So where would put us instead?" Asked Question.

"This Paladin guy, whoever he is, needs stopping. And rumour has it your partner got knocked out of the job by Bane." Batwoman added.

"You need all the help you can get," Huntress concluded.

"The Paladin case is being thoroughly worked on by my Alpha team. I need The Outsiders in Blüdhaven to make sure he doesn't spread his reach outside of Gotham." Batman stated, not budging on the issue even if they had a point.

"Batman's right," Catwoman backed him up. "Blüdhaven is getting worse than usual since the Falcone and Maroni families moved out there for their main operations."

"Plus a new family is rising up over there called the Bowsers. If a gang war were to start over there, we'd be stretched thin trying to put an end to it."

"Why not get Mario then?" Huntress jokes.

"A simple plumber won't be able to crush this one so easily. I have a source on the inside that's told me they're stocking up weapons and making deals with Lex Corp. One wrong move and Blüdhaven becomes Blüdbath."

"Good pun and point, but the latter are moot unless you know this source of your is reliable." Question spoke up again.

"What makes you think they aren't?"

"I've been looking into the Bowsers already. They recently just filled a leak. Brutally killed three suspects before they got to the right man. And what they did to him was worse." She explained. She wasn't trying to undermine him, just pointing out something he may not have known.

"So you can share the intel you have so far and use it together to cover more ground." Batman countered and continued. "Batwoman has access to the Batcomputer, albeit limited, but I'll transfer my intel so she can access it and make yourselves known to my source."

"Who is he?" Batwoman asked. "Your source, that is? How do you know we can trust him." Batman didn't answer, moving on.

"When she's available, Catwoman will lead the team. Otherwise, Batwoman is in charge. However, I don't need to remind you of my predecessor's distaste for your weapons."

"You saying I'm the black sheep now that you're in charge?" She asked mirroring Question by folding her arms.

"I'm saying you spill blood on your new armour and I'll know. However," He paused, analysing the weaponry she had. She didn't seem to have to any weaponry on her that was out of the ordinary tonight, but then again, she probably didn't expect to need anything for a meeting like this. "If you have to rattle a few skulls to get what you want, I won't complain."

"Just not to the point of death?" Huntress inquired. Batman nodded.

"Exactly. We will meet up again here in a week so you can report updates. In time, the location will change to the Cave itself, but for now, here will do."

"Sure, make us report to you personally instead of sending updates through the Batcomputer…" Huntress mumbled to herself. Batman didn't respond though, looking back to Catwoman as if they were sharing thoughts telepathically. Specifically the fact that the Bat Signal had just switched on.

"We should move, Bats. Gordon probably has to talk to you about something."

"So that's it?" Batwoman snapped as Batman looked to move on. "No talking about Bruce, no updating us on what's happening in the main case? Just, 'go to Blüdhaven and stop a crime war'?" She asked angrily. Batman turned back, then stepped towards her. His helmet opened to show the face of Jason Todd.

"Bruce Wayne is gone. The Paladin case is on my list of things to do tonight. And if you don't want to go to Blüdhaven, walk away. Your choice." He answered bluntly, then put his helmet back on and started to make his way towards GCPD. Selina took one last look at the three other women.

"So you're just gonna back him up all the time as you did with Bruce?" Questioned Question.

"Seems that's my role in this." She said back. "Now move, before his pun becomes reality."


	20. First Meeting

Chapter 20: First Meeting

If his meeting with the New Outsiders was awkward, then Jason didn't know what to call his on with Gordon. For one, he was later than he thought - apparently it went on shortly after they first met up with The Outsiders - and for two, he had turned up with Catwoman at his side like she wasn't a thief and was just a vigilante. Jason had to calm Gordon down and say that she was a necessary evil and was useful in gaining the enemy's trust. He couldn't deny that. Jason then went on to report about his findings into the Paladin case so far, discussing Riddler's lair in the Entertainment Mile where he had been keeping Bane. The Commissioner wasn't pleased about having to send Bane to a hospital.

"Did you get him to talk?"

"He can barely think after all the Venom that's gone through his system. He won't be of use to anyone until the Doctors can figure out a way to stop his addiction. It'll cost us a fortune putting guards there until he's fixed, so we might just have to let him go."

"He's not a suspect, he's a witness and a victim. Riddler was holding him there against his will until he didn't have one." Batman countered.

"Then you go after Riddler," Gordon shrugged back. "But unless you can link him to this Paladin guy I keep hearing about, it doesn't do crap."

"Agreed. I have a lead on that we're following tonight."

"Should I be worried?"

"It's just recon and gathering intel. No contact just yet." Gordon grunted in approval.

"I'll inform units to be on the lookout for you two, but I can't guarantee back up unless you call it in." He said, making his way back inside the building.

"I'll reach you if I have to," Batman replied. He nodded to Catwoman who started to head towards their lead. He was about to follow when Gordon grabbed him by the shoulder, concern on his face.

"Jim?"

"If you get what you want tonight, how much longer will we have to wait to go in on this guy?" The Commissioner asked. "Everyone in the station wants this case closed so we start moving on."

"You know I can't give you specifics. Whatever tonight happens will help, but it won't put Paladin away." Batman returned cautiously. "Tell your officers to focus on the movements of other bosses - Two-Face, Penguin - maybe even go after Riddler after what he did the other night. If we get one of them to rat out on Paladin, it'll give us an edge on him."

"And if none of them squeals?"

"Arrest them for other charges. One less crime-lord on the streets."

"Agreed."

"Is this all we're doing tonight?" Selina groaned, fifteen minutes after they had taken their positions outside The Steamed Bean Cafe. Jason had taken his helmet off and was watching the place through binoculars. Selina repeated her question, adding on,

"Because if it is, then I may as well leave you to it."

"We've only just got here, Selina. These things take time." Jason replied, only half-paying attention to the conversation.

"Most of the times in these situations nothing happens for at least an hour. I could at least go in and get a coffee from them before they close up."

"I've already explained to you why that's not a good idea," Jason started, but she waved him off.

"Yes yes, your theory about them making their customers addicted to their drinks and food is compelling, but I haven't actually been there yet." A lie. Jason could tell even when he wasn't fully focusing. He was about to chastise her for it when he spotted aggressive movement in the cafe's lights, so instead, he hushed her and told her to focus.

Shouting could be heard in the area as well, though not in English. He recognised one of the voices, the boy Luca, speaking in his mother tongue of Spanish angrily, as was everyone else. It was too faint to hear specifically, but there was only one person it could be directed at. And it didn't take long for his suspicions to be confirmed, the door to the cafe opening suddenly. Two men - clearly a father and son duo - exited.

" _Hurry up_ " The older of the two shouted - still in Spanish - back indoors. " _It's time we showed her the truth._ " Luca exited shortly after, his younger sister Rosa following close behind. From Jason could see if he zoomed in far enough, she had a bruise over her left eye.

" _And bring the dog too,_ " The younger man ordered. " _I do not trust him alone with mother._ " After Rosa came a man of Asian descent - Jak, Jason assumed - and finally, the youngest of the three left the cafe, closing the door behind him.

"Get ready to follow them," He said to Selina, who was also watching keenly now. Two large cars were slowly approaching the group. The oldest of them - Paladin, Jason again assumed - climbed in the front seat of the first, the younger following suite by going in the back. Luca and his brother guided both Rosa and Jak into the back seats of the second car. Jak went first, willingly, but Rosa seemed to be resisting her Brother's orders, pulling away from her. Luca grabbed her arm and used his superior strength to practically throwing her in, slamming the door in her face; before he and the other entered it themselves. Both cars then drove off.

"Horrible…" Selina was scowling at what she had just witnessed with Jason.

"Agreed. Let's stop it."

"Where are we going, Mister Sharp?" Rosa whispered to Jak in the back of the car, as quietly as she could, making sure her older brothers didn't hear them. The Englishman didn't answer and only shook his head. Rosa hated how her brothers bullied him as much as her, but maybe they were right about him being a lap dog to her father. She tried to get a look at him closer, as a way to reassure him, but Jak wouldn't let her, clearly still sore from the last beating he got for staring at her for too long. Rosa wasn't about to let up though and asked him again.

"Mister Sharp, whe-"

" _Quiet!_ " Diego interrupted as a way to shut her up. " _The dog doesn't speak to you, so don't speak to him either._ " He ordered.

" _I'll ask you, then, hm?_ " Rosa countered, though her brothers laughed as if it was a stupid question.

" _Hasn't Father already told you? You're the Red Kite._ " Rosa stared blankly at them, confused. They laughed again. " _I guess he'll explain you will find out soon enough..._ "

" _What are you talking about? I'm not the-_ "

"We're here," Luca interrupted again, speaking in English to alert Jak, even though he had been watching out the window since they set off. " _Stay quiet and follow us to Father._ "

They then both got out, keeping the doors open so she and Jak could exit too. In the corner of her eye as she left the car, she could have sworn she saw someone, or thing, on one of the other buildings move, but she didn't have time to think about it for long as Luca shoved her in the direction of a half-built demolition site. Rosa's bus to the school she went to occasionally pass it, and she had noticed that during even during the morning, the site was abandoned. When he asked someone about it, they just said that it had been set-up a year ago and never finished because the plans to rebuild it fell through for some reason. That only confused her more, but what did she know? Gotham was a confusing place to Rosa, with its tall buildings and terrible weather. And while she had gotten used to that thanks to when her family was in England, the city still scared her. But not as much as her father was scaring her right now.

Rosa did as Luca ordered and followed them inside the site, with Jak lagging behind, though she couldn't tell if he was doing it on purpose or not. She could occasionally hear him mumbling under his breath, saying something about a "Cass" coming to save him. Rosa decided to focus on what was ahead instead. Inside the scaffolded building was a makeshift Catholic Church, with pews, an altar and a platform with a Bible-like book sat open at random pages. At the centre of this piece was her Father, Jesús. He wore the suit of armour he claimed had been given to him from God himself, carrying the helmet at his side, a broad-sword on his right hip and staring at her with an intent she wasn't sure was positive.

" _Ah, Rosa!_ " He smiled, as if the abuse he had ordered on her and his wife hadn't happened mere minutes ago was no longer in his memory. He spoke again, in English, ordering her next to César, then telling the other two to bring Jak to him. Still having no other choice, Rosa obeyed and went to her oldest Brother, who wore a similar appearance to their father, the Christian Cross on his chest. She looked back their father who was having a quiet conversation with Jak on his knees, Luca and Diego holding his arms up. They were too far to hear what he was saying but eventually, the brothers brought him up to his feet again and dragged him away, sitting him down in the back pews and guarding his movements. Jesús finally looked back to them and spoke once more in English.

"Do you know why we have brought you here, Rosa?" He asked.

"No Padre..." Rosa shook her head. César glared at her when she replied in Spanish, and she repeated it in her English. "No, father."

"Really? A shame. I would have thought you listened to the stories I told you and your brothers when you were children of the family's destiny."

"But… they were just stories. None of them were true-"

"Don't speak the lies of non-believers!" Her father snapped at Rosa with anger. "It **is** my destiny to ascend as the next Son of God, and there **is** a way to do it…" He paused, going back to that same look she saw in his eyes earlier. "Through my own blood-line." Suddenly Rosa understood what her brothers meant when they said she was "The Red Kite". La Cometa Roja was the nickname for La ascensión de Sangre - Blood Ascension. It was said that if one was willing to sacrifice a member of their own bloodline, they had the endurance of Jesus. The endurance of a Demigod.

" _Papa? You're not going to-?_ " She was interrupted as César grabbed her suddenly and started bringing her forward to Jesús.

"Don't act surprised, Rosa. Your name was the first clue to this it shouldn't have taken you so long to realise your part in this." He drew a small knife from the altar as the two of them approached, testing the sharpness of it with his finger. Once Rosa was in front of him, her brother joined his father's side, looking down at her with no pity whatsoever.

"Papá…" She attempted to beg, in the tongue he had taught her as a child."¡Por favour, no hagas esto!"

"I'm sorry, my pretty flower. But know that in death, you will have helped a new age rise in this world…" Jesús raised the blade high as was about to begin lowering it when…

 **WHAM!**

The knife was suddenly knocked out of his hand and clattered to the floor. The culprit embedded itself in the altar: a throwing blade in the shape of a Bat.

"Let the girl go, Paladin!" An artificial voice cried out in the dark. Jesús smiled a dark smile, clenching his fist tightly.

"I knew this night would come," He replied in a shout, taking his helmet and putting it on as he talked. "But I did not expect you to hide in the shadows like a coward!" He began to draw the sword on his hip, before another Bat-like blade landed close by, exploding with smoke and blinding everyone in the room.

"Better to be a coward than a man who attempts to kill his own daughter!" Said the same voice as before, coming from a figure who landed in the smoke. Once it cleared, it revealed him as The Batman, standing stoic and opposite Jesús.

" _Rush him!_ " The Paladin shouted, going for his sword again and charging, Luca and Diego attempting to go from behind. But it seemed Batman expected this, instantly turning and grabbing Luca, throwing him into his brother on his right all in a couple of seconds, putting them out of the fight. His turn continued back to where he originally was as Paladin's sword was swinging at his head. He caught it with his armoured gauntlets, though the user of it pulled back before it was confiscated properly. Paladin took a step back, swinging the sword into a neutral stance. Batman did the same.

"Give it up, Nazerath. Gotham Police are one the way and I have video proof of your confession for attempted filicide." He stated simply. Paladin didn't budge; in fact, he shrugged at this as if he was indifferent.

"They will try, but my destiny awaits me all the same. I am God's modern prophet and he commands me to strike you down!" He swung again, expecting to miss, but instead hitting the metal of a different blade carried by his enemy!

" _En garde_ , amigo." The two swordsmen swung viciously at each other, countering each strike again and again while moving up and down the line of pews. Where Batman tried to cut, Paladin blocked and parried. And where Paladin attempted to riposte, Batman countered again. Eventually, the two opponents went into a blade-lock, forcing their strength against each other until one of them would have to break and finally take a hit. For once, it was Batman that was overpowered, Paladin powering through suddenly and slicing at his chest-piece from his pectoral to the shoulder. Batman himself didn't seem to be hurt, and his armour already looked rather damaged and beaten up. It was just a mere scratch on the surface, nothing more.

"You're better trained with a blade than I thought, Dark Knight; I commend you." Paladin complimented, obviously smirking with the tone of voice he was giving. Batman didn't reply, swinging the blade around with his wrist.

"What is wrong, Copy-Bat? You were quite talkative earlier, no? Not going to debate me any more?" He continued to mock.

"Why debate?" Batman replied shortly. "It won't change your views any more."

"True, but it does amuse me when people attempt to."

"It amuses you when people point out that your family is practically a cult and you're working with criminals to fulfil what you say is God's word? Sounds reasonable to me."

"Fool! I'll say it before and say it again if I must; I am DESTINED to bring a new divine age to this world!"

"You're a total hypocrite who goes against multiple tenants of the Bible you claim to be the truth of the world."

"Because it is!" Paladin countered without hesitation. "God has returned, looked down at the world he created and began to weep at its constant sin! And Gotham is a focal point! My destiny is to clear this city of that sin, then take it to the world as a whole!"

"Corrupt my city and your destiny will become Arkham." Batman raised his sword. Paladin did the same, laughing confidently.

"It will not be your city for more much longer." He swung for Batman's mask, only to miss and be blinded by yet another smoke bomb. Though it clearly hadn't been thrown by the Dark Knight, as both his hands were on the handle shortly before it happened.

" _What the- Ahhhh_!" César's voice could be heard from behind, though not for long. Paladin turned to look to both his son and daughter, only to see the smoke from a different grenade clearing where they both were; but César was on the ground and Rosa was gone.

"No!" Nazerath shouted in frustration, only for him to get slashed in the back by Batman's blade. He turned to face his opponent, only to find… nothing. The coward had gone. Disappeared after catching him off guard for a moment. At least he fool stuck to his apparent code of honour by not killing. Paladin pulled off his helmet and looked around the room. Not only was seeing his three sons all unconscious after the training they went through, infuriating - but it seemed Rosa was not the only one to escape, because Jak had run during the conflict as well. He sighed as he went to the sides of Luca and Diego. The night had not gone according to plan. And it was Batman's fault.


	21. Robin Rojo

Chapter 21: Robin Rojo

"...Why did you save me?" Rosa asked once again to the Masked man and woman, the three of them standing on a building opposite the half-built demolition site. The man didn't respond and moved away for a moment, seemingly talking to someone else in a hushed voice. The woman, however, bent a knee and comforted Rosa softly by putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Because it was the right thing to do." She replied simply. They both looked back to the site. There were sirens from multiple GCPD cars getting closer, which made Rosa feel at ease. "We saw what your father was doing and it was horrible." The masked woman continued. "But it's over now. You won't have to see him and your brothers again if you don't want too." She assured the young girl, only to get an uncertain moan in return.

"What about my Madre?" She asked, looking to the Masked man for answers. He seemed to be paying attention again.

"I'll talk to the Commissioner about putting her in a secure location, away from the rest of your family." He said as the first of many Police cars began to surround the site. "Stay here. I'll let you know when I need you." He then jumped down to greet the men stepping out of the first car that arrived, speaking directly to the oldest of them, wearing glasses and a long coat.

"Is he… The Batman?" Rosa asked the woman as they watched, who just nodded. She had to keep asking questions to keep the shock at bay. "And you're working with him, to stop my Father?"

"And those who are working for him."

"Including Mister Jak?" The woman frowned, clearly unsure on who that was. Eventually, she nodded.

"Possibly."

"But what-" The woman stopped listening as she focused on her ear, pausing for a moment before saying "understood" aloud as if someone was speaking to her.

"Commissioner Gordon wants to see you," She said to Rosa, who still looked confused and scared. "He's with the police. A good guy."

"...Okay." The woman took her hand and slowly helped her down the building they were on, walking together as they hit the ground. They approached Batman and the man Rosa assumed was the Commissioner; who noticed them first even though Batman was still explaining the situation to him.

"This her?" Gordon asked simply, cocking his head to one side to get a look at Rosa properly, though she was mainly staring in awe at the Batman. The Masked woman nodded to the Commissioner's question, who then moved closer to the two of them, bending down to talk to Rosa directly. "Batman told me what happened tonight, young lady." He said to her. "It's terrible. We're going to do everything we can to catch your father and brothers."

"Muchas gracias, señor." She replied graciously. She looked away for a moment before a thought came to her mind she had to ask him, "What about my mother?"

"We know about her, Batman here called it in when they started following your Father here. She's safe at the GCPD. We can take her to you if you'd like?" Rosa was about to nod before Batman spoke again.

"I'm not sure that's a good idea right now, Gordon." His words were somewhat cautious. "It could be dangerous to unite them so soon."

"What are you talking about? She's seen enough tonight, we should reunite them asap." The Commissioner stood to face Batman as they argued.

"I'm not denying they should be reunited, but I have questions for her that need to be asked sooner than later if we want to put her Father away." He explained. "If you take her to the precinct now, both her and her mother could be at risk."

"We'll protect them both if anything comes to it." Gordon defended his troops. "Why not just ask her questions at the Precinct, and back us up in case your supposed trouble comes?" Batman was about to give another counter, but then:

"I'll go." Rosa interrupted them both, a serious look on the young girls face. "I want to see her but… I want to help in any way I can. If I have to go with Señor Batman, then I will." Both looked at her surprised, though Gordon smiled with admiration.

"How old are you, Rosa?" He asked, curiously.

Rosa replied, "I turn fourteen in a month." Making Gordon chuckle.

"Fourteen and already making choices for the greater good." He said, impressed, finally nodding. "Fine Batman, take her where you want and ask her your questions. But I want her back with her mother before morning." He sighed, deciding on the spot. "I'll pull an all-night shift and start the paperwork to have them." Batman placed a hand on his shoulder, thanking him. He didn't touch Rosa as he led to his car - she heard people at school call it the Batmobile - and didn't say anything to her until they were out of earshot from everyone else. The other woman with him had gone in the middle of the conversation with the Commissioner, so Rosa now directed those same questions at Batman.

"Where are we going?"

"Somewhere safe. It won't take long." Batman answered without needing to think.

"Can you not ask questions here?"

"I'm not going to be the only one asking questions. Until then, try to get some rest."

It took half an hour for the Batmobile to get from Old Gotham back to the Batcave and in that time Rosa had dozed off in her seat. Jason didn't wake her up, focusing on the road for the most part. He informed Sage and Black Bat that he was coming in with "a guest", and told them to prepare to ask questions on the Nazerath family. Cass didn't reply - most likely she was still recovering - but Tim was there and had seen everything happen, both through the Bat Drone and his Suit's helmet cam.

" _Are you sure of bringing her to the Cave is a good idea?_ " Tim asked over his comms. " _What if she gets the wrong impression?_ "

"Rosa knows what she's doing and consented completely." Jason tried to reassure him as the Batmobile was driving through the cave itself. "We're just asking her questions about what she knows about her Father and that's it."

" _Don't cross that line, Jason. Be careful. She's a kid being taken to the mythical lair of the Batman. Don't let it go to her head._ " Jason smiled in his mask.

"No promises," He said, hanging up before Tim could complain. He needed to get into character. The Batmobile parked up in the Batcave slowly. Jason waited a moment before he woke Rosa up, recalling a similar memory. A memory of his first trip down the same tunnel all those years ago. Once the moment passed, Jason nudged her awake then exited the car as if nothing had happened. Rosa jolted awake from it, got out and looked around with clear excitement in her eyes.

"...Wow." She mused at her surroundings. The

"Don't get comfortable," Jason warned her quickly, gesturing to follow. He knew Tim was listening in somehow, so he had to keep up the act. "As I said, a few questions about your Father and Brothers, then back to your mother and to a safe house via GCPD." He reconfirmed. Rosa pouted a little, clearly wanting to explore the Cave a little longer, but she eventually nodded and followed Jason up to the Batcomputer itself.

"Sage," He called out to Tim. "I need your opinion on something."

The Batcomputer's screen flashes on, Tim's voice speaking back.

" _How may be of assistance?_ " Jason looked to Rosa, gesturing to introduce herself to the screen.

"...My name is Rosa Flora Nazerath, daughter of Jesús Nazerath…" She introduced herself which hunched shoulders, slightly nervous to be talking to a giant screen when Batman was right next to her. "You might know him as what he calls himself… The Paladin."

" _It was very brave and selfless of you to have gone through what happened tonight and stand here talking about him._ " The screen Sage spoke from replied pleasantly, making the young girl smile and slightly more comfortable. " _Please, if you know anything about your Father's plans, tell us now._ "

And Rosa did. She told the two of them all of what happened that night, the story of the Red Kite and Nazerath's plan of sacrificing his daughter to supposedly become this ascended Demigod, and how he would use

"But it wouldn't have worked," Rosa recalled. "If Father had… had killed me, then it wouldn't have worked."

"Why not?" Batman asked, surprised at this.

"The story of the Red Kite says the one who is sacrificed must be done so in front of a crowd of at least one hundred people, all of whom must believe in the actions equally." She explained, clearly pained by this realisation. "So what he was doing tonight was… a practice run."

"But how is he going to get over one hundred people in-" It clicked before Jason could finish his sentence. His theory was right. There was something in the coffee the family were making. "Oh. Oh no. Sage, you got that too?" He asked Tim on the other side.

" _Yeah. You were right._ "

"Right? Right about what?" Rosa frowned in confusion.

"Your family's coffee shop. Is he doing something to the coffee?"

Her own eyes widened. "...Yes. At night he'd have loads of people take over the shop and make it smell bad. He never told me why. Just my brothers, my mother and Mister Jak."

"Jak..." Batman tutted to himself. Of course, his name was still coming up. It seemed Cass may get her wish to include him anyway. Whatever the case, at least they had a lead on how to get Nazerath arrested. Jason looked back to Rosa once again and saw that she had moved, going to the costume cases along one of the Bat-Cave walls, curious. A part of Jason told him to let her look, but another remembered his promise to Gordon. "We can get back to your mother now Rosa. Come back to the Car."

"No." She answered firmly.

"You said you wanted to help in any way you could and you have. I'll use what you told us to help bring your father and brothers to justice."

"But that's not everything I can do to help," Rosa argued back, still looking at one of the costume cases. "Is it?"

Jason walked over to her and saw which one specifically. HIS suit. The Robin Suit he wore. The one he left behind. Jason was stunned for a moment but gathered what he could and eventually replied to her question.

"Rosa… That's not how this sort of thing works." She turned and looked up at him, a passion in her eyes.

"What did you say before? That you'll bring my Father and Brothers to justice? What if you don't? What if he gets free, or finds a way to get out of trail? I said I wanted to help in any way I can." She pointed to the case. "And doing it with you is the best chance I have."

It was a bad argument, but Jason understood her point. Rosa clearly wanted to do more than she could have done tonight, but couldn't because her brothers knew her. And while she was using _his suit_ against her, Batman always needs a Robin.

"This isn't game." He eventually said, still disapproving.

"Good. I'm not playing one." Rosa stared at him, repeating her "I want to help."

"Fine," Jason couldn't resist her any longer. Besides, Bruce did say he needed all the help he could get. He reached for the faceplate on his mask and lifted it up - revealing his face to Rosa. He simply smiled.

"My name is Jason Todd." He said. "The second Robin." He pointed to the other Robin suits next to his. "The Third," Tim's old suit. "The Fourth," Damian's, "and the first Batman's." Bruce's suit. He looked back to Rosa again. She had the same admiration in her eyes from earlier when she first came in the Cave.

"So… you'll let me help?" She asked eagerly.

He nodded in return.

 _A/N:_

 _Happy Holidays one and all! I wanted to get this chapter out sooner but I figured it would be best to post it on Christmas Eve for my followers! Like I've said before, I have been planning ahead and Rosa was always important to the plot, but I'll explain in better detail why she's a good choice for Jason's Robin next year. In the meantime, R &Rs are appreciated as always, let me know what works and what doesn't so I can improve etc. I'll hopefully get back into the groove of updating quicker as 2019 starts up. Until then, hope everyone has a good Christmas and New Year! _

_Cheers, Chewbaxter!_


	22. Defector

Chapter 22: Defector

A week passed. Jesús' pride, for a moment at least, had been shaken. Batman's ambush was something he had overlooked in a moment of overconfidence on his part. He vowed to the Lord himself that he wouldn't make the same mistake twice. Thanks to the attack, his wife and daughter had testified against him and his boys to the police and they were now on the run, like petty common criminals. That wasn't the plan at all, and César seemed the most angry at this.

" _You know the League won't accept any excuse you tell me to give them, right?_ " He had said to him. " _They will want an update and I won't be able to give them anything!_ "

But Jesús saw it differently.

" _A small set back,_ " He had said to his sons. " _We still have Gotham's underground in our pocket and as long as we can keep them we will be victorious._

" _In the meantime, I want you all to keep your distance from Rosa and your Mother. The Police will be around them until we're caught. Find out where they are, but don't let them know about it._ "

All three of Jesús' sons were sceptical of this plan but obeyed anyway. Besides, they had other things to deal with. That being a certain English Medic who ran the night everything went wrong. Jak Sharp.

Since that night, Jak had been running from his problems. He didn't go back to Jesús because he knew what would happen if he did. He would have been beaten by Paladin's sons, lectured by him and forced back into their fight without a single bit of fightback. Even back when he was in the Army he would have asked for permission to speak, and likely got it. For once, Jak was scared and didn't know what to do. So he ran, not staying in the same place twice. He didn't even keep checks on what happened to Rosa and her mother and at this point, he didn't care what happened to them. He was looking out for himself and that was it.

Eventually, a plan formed in his head. He would slowly move out of the City, heading to the closest airport, and with what money he had left, he would use to get a ticket back to the UK. It didn't matter where in the Union - England Scotland, Northern Ireland, even Wales or one of the islands - he'd find the cheapest flight, go there and start over. He just wanted out of Nazerath's scheme. The only problem was he wasn't in the best place to start his plan. The closest airport, from what he could find on a map, was the Archie Goodwin - South of Gotham City as a whole, heading towards Bludhaven. Right now, in an abandoned apartment block on Burnley Island, it looked unlikely he could make that journey on foot. He didn't have any means of travel except his feet, and he didn't trust any of the public services in the area, since the first - and last - time he ordered a Taxi, he almost got mugged. As much as London had its faults, Gotham was ten times worse.

It was an evening as Jak left the abandoned apartment block with his things. It was safer to walk around the City during the Rush Hour. If he stuck to the crowds he was less likely to get spotted and grabbed by one of Nazerath's allies. And yet he was still on edge. Every two minutes, Jak was looking behind him. Every time he passed an alley he had to do a double take to see if there was anyone waiting for him, every time someone accidentally brushed passed him, he had to check they didn't look familiar. The stress felt like hands wrapped around his neck - but eventually, the site of a bridge to the mainland was in site.

He checked his watch. _19:03_. He could feel his body begging him to get some food. He didn't care what anything would do. He saw a Hot-Dog Vendor close by and reached for his wallet in his pocket. _$10 in cash_. It was enough. He had more on card but he needed to save what he could for a plane home. Jak approached him slowly, smiling at the man like everything was normal.

"Hi there," The Vendor smiled back. "What can I getcha?"

"Evening mate," Replied Jak. "I'll just grab a normal dog please, haven't eaten in hours." He laughed, acting as if he'd had a busy day at work. The Vendor quickly obliged, not needing to do much work outside of putting the sausage in a roll.

"Sauces? Ketchup, mustard? You're European, right? I got some Mayo somewhere if you're into that." The man asked, making conversation. Jak shook his head politely as he noticed a glowing light in the distance. The man noticed it too as he passed his customer's food and was given the 10 bucks.

"New 'round here? That's the symbol for the Batman. I heard he got killed but turns out it was just a costume change again."

"Mm-hmm," Jak nodded, only half-listening to the conversation, wondering where the Batman was right now. He moved on as another customer took the vendor's attention, his attention distracted by the Bat Signal in the sky. He was used to it by now, but there was always a part of him that wanted to see Batman swinging around the City like he used to see Cass do. Jak's thoughts then drifted to her. He regretted leaving without seeing her again, getting to say goodbye properly; but perhaps it was for the best.

" _Fine. If that's your 'tactic', play it out. If it gets you killed - I already mourned you, so it won't be too bad for me." She has said to him._

" _And if it works, and I get away with it…?" He asked her, pushing his luck and kissing her anyway. She hit him again, then:_

" _Come near me like that again before Paladin's downfall and I may kill you."_

If that was her last thought about him, then it wasn't worth it. Jak had made up his mind. He would go home and find someone new. Start again. He was at the path going to the bridge, climbing up the stairs to the small path alongside the roads that led in and out of the City. But as Jak was finally beginning to calm down, believing that Jesús' men weren't following him, it happened.

Jak was snatched by a grappling hook, pulled up and away to a building behind him. Surprised by this, Jak screamed as it happened and struggled against it - only making his landing uncomfortable for himself. He looked up and around then jumped as he saw Batman himself standing above him.

" _Jak Sharp,_ " He started, his voice affected by a changer in his suit. " _You're working with Jesús Nazerath. Tell me what his next plans are, now!_ "

Jak couldn't believe it. He kept looking around to see if Cass was with him, but they seemed to be alone.

"I'm not-"

" _DO NOT lie to me, Sharp._ " Batman interrupted. " _I am not in the mood for the mind games I'm told you like to play._ " Evidently, Cass had told the masked man about his failed plan. So lying to him was pointless.

"...I don't know where Nazerath is. I've been running from him the night you stopped him trying to kill Rosa." He admitted plainly, feeling shame as he finally admitted it out loud. "I just want to go home now. Get a fresh start."

" _After colluding with Nazerath, you'd be lucky if you could leave this City,_ " Batman stated with folded arms. " _The GCPD knows who you are, Sharp. We have evidence of you showing Paladin's plans to the Bombers of Wayne Manor. If you tried to get of the city, they would have you arrested for terrorism._ "

Jak's eyes widened. _Terrorism_. If he was told two years ago he'd be wanted for collaborating with a Terrorist group and planning one of their attacks on an American City, he would have laughed in that person's face. A former soldier, a Medic, a Doctor! Someone who had respect.

" _You didn't think about that, did you?_ "

"No," Jak admitted. "No, I didn't. I've got nowhere else to go."

"Maybe not." A new voice; one Jak slightly recognised. He looked around to see that he wasn't alone with Batman after all. A girl, in a domino mask, wearing a yellow hood over her head and a red jacket over black under-armour. Her hair was also black, and a few curls could be seen sticking out of the hood.

"Ró-"

"-Bin!" She interrupted him before he guessed who was under the mask. "It's Robin. See, the "R" is on my belt, here, see?" This Robin pointed to the "R" she was talking about, which was to the side of her belt. Jak looked at her confuse, but went with it as she kept talking.

"We have a third option for you, Jak."

"You do…?"

" _Your time with Nazerath, if a little abusive, will give us a… larger, advantage against him and his plans._ "

"You want me to come work for you? Will… the police know about that?"

"They don't even know about me yet, do they?" Robin asked Batman in the same tone. He didn't give either question a straight answer.

" _They'll know when it's time to know. Right now, you out in the open is a bad idea. Paladin's men have been searching for you for a week. We've been making sure they haven't been successful._ "

"So you're ignoring the signal?" Jak pointed to the GCPD's light in the sky.

" _Gordon knows about it - that doesn't matter._ " Again, the main point was dodged. " _What matters is that we get you out of the City for a while so you can help us._ " He pressed a few buttons on his left gauntlet as he spoke.

"But luckily, we have a place like that." Robin finished the sentence. Jak was confused, but intrigued enough to humour them. If they were really asking him to join their group to take down Paladin and anyone else, how could he say no? His boyhood dream of meeting the Crusader just came true, and now he was being invited in? No way he could refuse an offer like that.

"I'll do anything." He finally replied, nodding eagerly.

" _We'll see._ " Batman said, as he looked off of the building to watch the road below them. Jak looked too as the Batmobile approached by itself, opening up. Batman looked to Robin, who took a moment to find something and join him. The she gestured to Jak to do the same. The three of them descended down to the vehicle, and Jak felt at home.

He just hoped this wasn't a trick.


	23. The Ground Rules

Chapter 23: The Ground Rules

Jak's reaction to the cave was the same as most people's reactions, with one… British exception:

"It's a bit unclean, don't you think?"  
Jason didn't care to respond, but it made Rosa laugh, which was all he needed to continue on. He gave the man a quick tour of the cave, warning him on what he could and couldn't touch.

"Until I know I can trust you, I'm assigning you to Medical duties only." He said to their guest as they entered the relatively clean office Alfred used to be in every time they came into the cave injured. He continued, "We'll need to clean it up a bit more and resupply some stuff - but it should work for you."

"Will I get paid?" Jak asked, frowning as he looked around the place. Jason vocally scoffed through his helmet. Rosa also did this visibly through her mask

"Do you _want_ to be paid?" Jason answered with another question.

"If I'm performing a service, yes. Isn't that how it works?"

"Not if you're working with us."

"Don't be silly Jason…" A new voice all three of them recognised as Cass entered the conversation. Jason acknowledged her arrival without saying anything - Rosa following his lead, having grown used to Cass over the past week of training - though Jak's reaction was obviously pleased to see her again, moving to hug her only to be ignored. Cass continued her counterpoint to Jason. "Alfred was paid by Bruce, wasn't he; how is Jak different?"

"Because right now, I don't trust him. Bru-" Jason stopped himself just in time "...My predecessor trusted Alfred."

"You don't need to talk about me like I'm not here, you know? I'm right here." Jak came back in. "As for trust; how can I prove myself?" Jason groaned, not wanting to deal with this conversation any longer.

"Check up on Cassandra's Collar bone, and stop asking so many questions." He said, moving away and taking his helmet off once out of Jak's visual range. Then he called Robin over for her training, leaving the new medic to be with his patient. Jak smiled awkwardly as Cass sat down on the small fold-up bed they had.

"So." Jak started, looking at the medical tools available. "How long ago did the break happen?" He asked her.

"About two weeks ago." She replied. "Bane broke it hooked up to a machine your former boss forced him into. Or at least, that was our conclusion. Am I wrong?" Jak angrily grunted in acknowledgement.

"You don't need to rub it in, Cass I'm on your side now."

"You could have been on my side all the time. But you decided to play your 'little game' with Nazerath, try and trick him. How well did that turn out for you, hm?" She tried to drive her point home with quotation marks, only hurting herself in the process. Jak approached her to inspect the sling she wore. She flinched slightly as he touched it.

"Relax, I'm not wearing a mask, you're safe." He joked to try and brighten the mood, but Cass didn't seem to be done.

"We're not children playing dress up, Jak. You need to understand that if you want to be part of this fam…" She stopped and retraced herself. "This group." Now it was his turn to not drop it.

"This is a family?"

"What did he say about asking questions?"

"It's a legitimate question," Jak pointed out as he began to take off her sling to replace it. "You started to say family then stopped. Was this a family?" She paused, then licked her lips, thinking carefully about her words.

"There are… others that you haven't met yet. When you get to know Jason a little better, you'll get to meet the rest of them." She finally explained.

"Including the Justice League?" Cass couldn't help but give a small smile.

"One at a time, now." She sighed, relaxing a little more as Jak was getting back into the speed of his normal job before all of this.

"You were right," He admitted, after a short content silence. "About me and Paladin. I couldn't cut it. Jesús, his sons, they weren't as easy to manipulate as I thought."

"The fact that you're still calling Nazerath by his first name just shows that he got to you. The fact that he… told you to do those things… And you obeyed them without question..." Cass looked away from her medic, swallowing her words.

"I know what I did." Jak conceded "I thought… I thought the ends would justify the means." Cass gave a harsh scowl to him.

"You thought killing innocent people at a _Charity Event_ was justified?!"

"You know that's not what I-"

"Well, it certainly sounds like you meant it!" Cass pushed Jak off of her. With her free arm, but not without wincing as she got up.

"Cass please, I'm a better person than that!" He begged for her to stay. "I never wanted anyone to die that night, but-"

"But WHAT?" Cass snapped, screaming at Jak with a voice he never thought he'd hear from her. "The excuse of "Ends justifying the means", is worthless, especially when defending being involved with the death of almost _fifty people_! Including the Wayne Family! What were you thinking? That the bombers Nazerath hired were going to obey your commands? No! Whatever Nazerath wanted, they would have done. And because you were too stupid to realise that, Bruce Wayne, the son of the next generation of Gotham, died never completing his mission to fulfil his parents' wish for this City!"

Both the lecturer and lectured had tears in their eyes as Cass finished yelling at Jak. Eventually, Cass sat back down, and the ex-Doctor continued his check-up on her in silence. From across the Bat-Cave, Jason and Rosa were listening, waiting for the fight to continue.

"Is this normal?" Rosa asked her new mentor.

"Kind of," He said with a sigh. "Except I used to be the one using that excuse."

"What changed your mind?" She asked. Jason pointed to the most recent Suit that Bruce wore before his death.

"He did."

 ** _A/N:_**

 ** _Hey guys, I'm back! Short Chapter just to get back into the swing of things. Should have one more chapter up by the end of the week too. After that, I'll be working on this as much as I can going into the Summer. It's almost been a year since I started this, and I hope to finish it ASAP so I can move onto the next Arc! Hopefully y'all will join me with that too. R &Rs are always appreciated! _**


	24. Interesting Intel

Chapter 24: Interesting Intel

"Blüdhaven stinks," The Huntress in Black and Purple stated as she and three other costumed women finished beating down a mob of potential rapists. "But it's a whole lot better than Gotham right now."

"Be quiet, Helena," Catwoman said after punching down one of the goons after he tried to get back up. "If the Bat wants us here, we go here. End of story." Huntress fired an arrow from her crossbow to pin a guy that was coming at the Question, who was dealing with someone else, then scoffed.

"Please. I'm more of a Bat than you are. So's Kate, since she's got it in her name."

"Don't be a bitch for the sake of being a bitch, Huntress." Question joined in as the fight finished, trying to be a pragmatist in this sudden argument. "What's your point?"

"Well," She started, "Maybe if one of us were in charge, we'd be closer to the case Jason's doing with Cass and Tim." She pointed out. Selena visibly rolled her eyes at this.

"I thought he made it clear why we're not working with him on the Paladin case. Don't get pissy because he doesn't want to make it too crowded. He wants to keep this place away from Paladin's influence, that's what we're doing." She retorted, staring Huntress down as she did so.

"So why should I stick around to take orders from you?"

"Because like he said when we met up," Question finished Selena's argument for her. " 'If we don't want to work in Blüdhaven, walk away'," She quoted Jason. "You can do that, Helena, but he won't like it." Huntress bit her lip in defeat, no suitable retort coming to mind. She looked around to Kate - Batwoman - and noticed that she'd already moved on to interrogation of one of the guys they'd beaten, having grappled up to the higher ground and asking questions while holding the guy on the edge of the building.

"Well," Question said, having also just seen this. "Looks like we've been wasting time." She started to call to Kate, "Don't make him too scared! We need him alive for the cops!" The was no response from her at first - but not even ten seconds went by before she dropped the guy from her height. All three of them reacted quickly, but Huntress just fired a different bolt from her crossbow, the tip of it exploding with a fast-growing gel. As the guy fell, he landed in the area of the gel and was fine. The gel did expand further before hardening, trapping him so he couldn't escape. She smirked.

"Actually, nevermind," She said, as she went to join Batwoman on the roof. "I just remembered Kate's in charge once the Cat goes to have her kid."

Reluctantly, the other two joined them so Batwoman could share her intel.

"So, what did you get from him?" Question asked first.

"Two things," She said with a gesture for effect. "One, they all worked for a certain Harvey "Two-Face" Dent, who happens to be here tonight on some business with Black Mask, the Falcone and Maroni Families and Penguin."

"Did he say what for?" Catwoman asked, now curious.

"Apparently a coup against Paladin is being planned," Batwoman said with a smile, which sparked interest in all of the women there. "What do we think? Trap?"

"Trap," Huntress nodded.

"Not a trap." The Question shook her head, Catwoman agreeing. "Two members of Paladin's three, meeting up with Gotham mob bosses to talk about their City? Has to be something about Paladin."

"Do we call it in?" Batwoman looked to Selena for help. "What's out play?"

The Cat shook her head with a smile.

"If Huntress wants some action on the Paladin case, we might as well go there and grab some intel. Then we can report back to Jason afterwards and he'll use it how he likes."

"What if he turns it down?" The Question asked, a little suspicious.

"We'll just say we were chasing a Bowser family member who happened to be there." She shrugged. "If he sees through the lie, it doesn't matter. The Intel could still help him. It's a win-win scenario."

The Outsiders agreed, especially Huntress. And so they moved quickly to the apparent location Batwoman got out of the man - Fear Cay.

The journey there were no hiccups. Fear Cay was an Island on the East of Blüdhaven, just outside of the commercial Dockyards. More to the point, it was basically abandoned and forbidden for any citizen to go on it - with police boats constantly patrolling the area to make sure no kids weren't being stupid and going on the Swampy island for a drunken dare. So the fact that when the Outsiders arrived, none of these boats was on their usual patrol around the island - even with the obvious presence of people on the island - showed that someone had paid them off. Selina sighed as she lowered her binoculars and passed them to Kate, the others looking through their own.

"Thoughts?" She openly asked the group.

"Question's a Cop, right?" Helena spoke first, looking to Renee. "She could head down to the docks and get one of the boats to catch them out?"

"Do you really think Blüdhaven cops will take orders from a Gotham P.I.?" She replied monotonically.

"Who said you had to give them orders?" Catwoman interjected, looking to the two of them with a sly smile.

"So, what? You want me to go down there and them know that a bunch of costumed villains are on the island, even though it's clear they've been paid off to not patrol which means I'm gonna have to fight them alone?" The group was silent as Selina repeated what Renee just said in her head. Eventually, though, her reply was:

"...Yup."

"Alright, fair enough. Huntress, wanna back me up?"

"Sure." Helena shrugged. "Bats and Cats can deal with finding out what they're doing while we take down their back up. Sounds like fun."

"Good to know," Selina smiled through her scarf-like mask. "Outsiders, move… out, I guess."

The team's splitting up to cover more ground made sense, but Catwoman originally wanted Huntress with her, not Batwoman. There was just something about Kate she didn't like - probably it was her trust issues flaring up as they barely knew each other _before_ she worked with Bruce. Nonetheless, she'd read up on her file when Jason was first talking about recreating the Outsiders in the first place - and boy, was it huge. Exmilitary, trained in everything from acrobatics to Lock Picking. Trained in at least fourteen styles of martial arts over the years; Boxing, Krav Maga, Karate, Ninjitsu - she could go on. The point was, she was sure that whatever happened next, they'd be more than capable to take down all parties on Fear Cay.

To get there, Selina had hot-wired one of the boats parked up on the mainland and together silently rode it over to the Swampy island. Kate looked out for guards on patrol, though there didn't seem to be any on the East of the island, so that was their landing point. Once Selina parked up and they got out, they went to hide from plain view just in case.

"So, what's the plan now?" The Bat asked the Cat while they slowly dragged the boat across the muddy marsh of a beach.

"Stay hidden from guards, grab intel from whoever else is here with Penguin politely then interrupt their night with an ass kick or two." The Cat purred. "Sound good?"

"Great. Move out." And so they did. The Cay was small but easy to manoeuvre around. Whoever posted the guards hadn't been very smart with the placements, because both heroines could cut right through them if they weren't staying out of sight by parkouring on tree branches when they could. Eventually, though, Selina stopped her partner in their tracks with a sudden raised clenched fist. Then she tapped her ear to listen, which both of them did. There was a conversation happening a few meters North of them. Catwoman gestured to her partner that she would scout ahead, and Batwoman stayed put. As Selina got closer, the conversation became clearer. Their source was right; as she heard the voices of Two-Face, Black Mask and members of both Maroni and Falcone families were in mid-conversation.

"...Just glad that he didn't invite Nigma this time 'round. I was getting sick of putting up with his shit for one." Obviously Two-Face.

"Maybe so, but you'd think he'd be the first one here if this was his idea," A Maroni member thanks to his blue colours. "You sure this ain't a trap he made Paladin set up?"

"Paladin's smart, but not that smart," Said Roman Sionis, aka The Black Mask. "He ain't smart enough to realise I've still got boys in Gotham doin' work for me."

"But, if this _were_ an ambush by Paladin, you would' a just told him that." Dent countered Roman with a backhanded motion. "You idiot." Black Mask rose up to Harv.

"DO NOT, call me an idiot, Dent!" Dent rose up to face his rival.

"Or what?"

"Or,"

Selina almost breathed a sigh of relief as the familiar and angry voice of Cobblepot waddled into view, interrupting the screaming match before it had gotten worse.

"Or I'll have you kicked off my island personally." The Penguin said, two large, armed men in red suits following behind. Dent sat back down, but Black Mask stood his ground, eyeing up the men before biting back.

"Your island? Since when did you own it?"

"Since no one else wanted it and Blüdhaven stopped giving a shit, that's when. So sit down now, Roman, before I have my new friends take you out and employ your boys into their work. And from what I hear, you need all the help to overhear." Black Mask growled, sitting back down.

"Speaking of which," Harvey went to change the subject quickly. "Who are these friends of yours, Oz?" Penguin smiled slyly at the two men.

"These fine gentlemen are members of the new game here in Bludhaven - The Bowser Family. They're on loan to me for the night as a security precaution. One that I want tightening, knowing we have an extra boat on the island that shouldn't be here."

Shit. Cobblepot saw the boat. Selina had two choices now: stay in cover and gather more or regroup with Kate to get a better position. She looked back on the path she had taken to see if she could spot Batwoman, and - not surprisingly - she had moved. Either she was also listening in, or she was taking care of the perimeter guards one by one quietly. If the latter, then Selina would go for the former of her choices for now. She believed in Kate's ability to keep quiet until the right time. Plus, now they had a reason to report this to Jason without breaking his orders. Right now, this was a win-win.

"Lads," Penguin continued. "Introduce yourself to my guests, please." The first of the two Mob members stepped forward with a smile. He was slim all over, with tight cheekbones that Selina guessed he used to get his way with young women. His partner standing opposite was a more built - but while somehow also being fat. Selina had a feeling it was to subvert the expectations of being stronger than he looked.

"Name's Braeden," The thin one spoke in a South Irish accent. "Braeden O'Flanders, but when I'm workin' ya call me Blue-Eyes. The un-cracked nut beside me is Gerry. He doesn't talk much." Gerry stood at attention as Braeden spoke about him, grunting at the end. He looked back to Cobblepot. "Anything else needs sayin'?"

"Nah mate, think you got all of it." His boss replied.

He replied with a simple "Ta." Oswald was about to continue when Black Mask spoke up again.

"Whaddya mean there's an extra boat on the island?" He asked, looking to his men wearing similar masks to his, and were, therefore, his workers.

"I mean," Cobblepot also stared at the guards. "Someone wasn't checking the East coast on their patrol. Cause that's where I saw the boat. It was hidden, but not well."

"So that means we may have a Bat problem," Two-Face came in. Selina smiled to herself. If the were any time for her to come in, it would be now.

"Or, a _Cat_ problem," She called out, all guards from all groups suddenly standing alert and priming their weapons. Catwoman jumped down to reveal herself on a low but sturdy branch in the open, close by to Dent. With a lot of weapons primed and aimed in her direction, she smiled under her scarf, now covering part of her face. "Oh, boys, why don't you put down your toys so we can talk like adults?"

"I've got nothin' to say to ya, Cat!" Cobblepot spat at her, his own pistol in the group aimed. "You said you were cutting your losses with the Bat and yet I've heard still you're on side with him. What's the deal?" Selina shrugged.

"Once he showed back up I figured I try and take a peek under that new mask of his - see if it was the same man,"

"And?" Said Dent, looking up to her, half a face of trust, the other half doubting. "Anything you'd like to share? Like who he is?"

"No. Same symbol, but a different man underneath. Wouldn't even show his face. But I did get two things," She hopped down from her high ground and continued face-to-face with all of them, then started her short list. "For one, he's an inch taller. And for two," She put on a fake pout in her voice for effect, "He doesn't trust me. Thinks I've got a bad rep. Thinks I'll slow him down."

"So he's kicked you off?" Penguin slightly lowered his pistol.

"The old Bat and I had a… complicated relationship." A couple of the henchmen snickered but stopped when she shot them a dark look. "One I paid for too many times with. And now Paladin's apparently killed him, I want him gone. Then I'm done. For good."

"And you'll do anything to get him gone?" Two-Face asked. Selina looked around at everyone in the meeting. They had clearly bought her story and she smiled openly about it.

" _Anything_ , as long as he's gone." She confirmed. Oswald looked to his new colleagues for objections. Two-Face flipped his coin to make a decision, Black Mask grumbled to himself but didn't pipe up in anger and the two Mob Family representatives said nothing; so, there were none. They all nodded to their guards, and all weapons were properly lowered. "So we're good?" She asked,

"For now," Cobblepot nodded. "But I'll be watchin' you closely now Cat. I find any proof that you're still an agent of the Bat and I'll personally cut ya head off." She rolled her eyes at the threat, turning around and finding a comfortable spot close to Harvey - who she trusted a little bit more than anyone else to defend her. Even if it was by a flip of a coin. While she sat down, she silently activated her communicator to Batwoman, staying silent, but keeping it on as a way to tell Kate where she was and what she was doing.

"So, with that out of the way," Cobblepot continued. "Let's talk business,"

" _Paladin,_ " All of the other members said at the same time, all eager to talk methods of offing him.

"Exactly," Penguin said with a smile. "We all want him out of our city. I've spent too much funding him, Harvey's stopped his war with Nigma thanks to him and he threw the Maroni and Falcone families out in one night!"

"Not to mention his plan is insane," Selina added.

"You know his plan?" One of the Falcone members spoke up at last.

"I watched from afar when the new Bat first met him a week back. He wants to 'sacrifice' his daughter so he can become a Demi-God thanks to some prophecy he was told about."

"And I happen to know that he's working with the League of Shadows to make that sacrifice happen." Penguin boasted with pride

"So that first time was a practice, and it failed thanks to Batman's interruption. He saved the kid too." Selina continued. "So now it's our turn."

"Finally!" Shouted Black Mask with excitement. "So what's the plan? Kill him before the sacrifice?"

"No." Two-Face interrupted again. "Oz and I get first dibs on how we kill him. For now, though, it's about undermining." Cobblepot nodded in confirmation.

"You three," He pointed to Black Mask and the two members for the Mob Families. "I want your boys to start attacking Paladin's shipments around Gotham. They've got a traitor that recently went on the run, so if any of them get caught, they tell 'em it was Jak Sharp who tipped them off."

"Jak Sharp?" The Maroni member repeated, sceptical. "How do you know that will work?"

"And what if they ask for more information?"

"Simple," Penguin said. "They don't know where he is, but he's feeding you guys info, and you're acting on it. The point is to make Nazerath look unbalanced and weak."

"Meanwhile," Dent continued. "Cobblepot and I are gonna get our men to start pushing out The Riddler's."

"Aww, poor Nigma?" Selina asked in a mocking tone, mainly teasing Dent. "I thought you two made up?" He growled at her faux pouting.

"Nigma's a loose thread that Paladin doesn't give a shit about," Cobblepot kept explaining anyway. "If we move on him, it means Paladin won't suspect we're part of this scheme."

"And what am _I_ doing in all of this?" Again, Selina interrupted. She was genuinely interested to see what job Penguin would give her. The short, bird-like man gave an ugly smile. It looked like it wasn't going to be fun.

"I think it's time you introduced yourself to Nazerath's family. Mainly, his son, César." Selina scowled at him with disappointment.

"If you want me to fuck him, I'll be the one telling Nazerath, not Nigma." She threatened him, to which he started to backtrack.

"I don't want you to fuck him." He said quickly, "I want him to _think_ you wanna fuck him, but you're not. I want you to use that charm you had the last Bat - whatever it was - to squeeze out any extra information Nazerath might be hiding from us. Go as far as ya like with it."

"And if he already has someone?"

"You make him an offer he can't refuse." Roman butted in one last time, gesturing to Selina's features all over and laughing as he did so. She was very close to grabbing Dent's gun and shooting him there and then - but knew better than to risk shooting a powerful Mob Boss like him, even if everyone was at odds with each other. Cobblepot cleared his throat and continued to finish his point.

"I'd know if the lad had someone - he doesn't. Get whatever you can out of him however you want, but make sure he keeps it a secret?"

"So your cover's not blown. Got it." Selina nodded with a fake salute.

"Is that all?" Two-Face asked, looked to Penguin.

"I'd like to think so." He nodded.

"Good." Selina stood up and stretched her body. "Well, that was fun. You get all that Bat-Woman?" She openly said, a clear smirk happily on her face as all of the men's faces started to turn towards her in shock.

"All of it, Catwoman," Kate responded. "Want any backup?"

"Could help," She moved her body in a position that showed she was ready for a fight. "Let's see what the Bat will want with this _Interesting Intel._ "


	25. Training and Talking

Chapter 25: Training & Talking

From the week and a half, she had made the choice, Rosa realised that "wanting to help" wasn't all she had to do if she really wanted to be a Hero. There was a lot of training and - according to her new Mentor - she had a lot of catching up to do if she wanted to really fight in Gotham. But she persisted, which was something Jason liked about her. Shortly after she convinced her mother of becoming his pupil, Rosa was returned to the GCPD, and then her mother.

Every day after school, she would get picked up by Jason or Miss Cass and taken to the Batcave for training. The first time this happened, she almost got caught by her mother - so, they took her out of the equation. Mister Tim - who somehow ran Wayne Enterprises and helped Jason as Batman - approached her mother the next day and offered her a job at one of the cafeterias in the building. His excuse was that he was contacted by the GCPD about her situation and wanted to make sure she could look after her daughter away from the eyes of her abusive husband. Flustered but appreciative, she accepted the job and now worked the lunch and dinner shifts and had a small security detail take her to and from the building. In her opinion, Rosa thought that last part was unnecessary. Miss Cass explained that it meant they could get a good few hours of training done with her at the Batcave, or even at one of the safe-houses Jason still had. Then once they finished, she could go back to their new apartment and act as if she just got in. From there she could lie about after-school clubs, doing homework, being with friends - as long as it was convincing. Which was lucky, as Rosa was a pretty good liar anyway.

The training itself was hard. Jason and Miss Cass went easy on her for the first two days of training, before the real stuff started. It wasn't all hard - thanks to the bullying of her three older brothers, she had learned the basics in defending herself against basic attacks. But basics, according to Jason, were nothing.

"A fight in a playground is nothing like a fight in real life;" He had told her. "Because a real-life fight can be over seconds after it starts. Most of the time, in this city, the victor is the one holding a gun, but on the occasion, your opponent doesn't have a gun, you may still lose. My job is to teach you how to win, even if they _are_ carrying a gun."

From that point onward, Jason and Cass had made Rosa work hard every day until she ached all over. Every day after she arrived from school, the same schedule: half an hour warming up with conditioning her body, then another half of sparring, divided into two again where both Cass and Jason showed her different styles and techniques. From there, Jason would teach an hour of weapon training - from the bo-staff to throwing stars to basic swordplay. But it was the last hour that frustrated her the most. The combination of all three along with the most important training of all: detective work.

The Bat-Cave had an area dedicated to creating real-life simulations of past missions and adventures Batman and or Robin had been on. Every day, Rosa would work the same simulation until she figured out what she needed to do, using the skills from the past hours of training to work it out. Sometimes it was a game of the Riddler's, with a huge puzzle she had to solve while trapped or surrounded. Other times it was Two-Face tying her down to a giant coin and flipping her, and she had to escape with sleight of hand and speed cutting the rope. Sometimes she passed, other times they'd have to go over the same stuff again the next day because she wasn't quick enough. Every time, she realised that it wasn't as fun as she thought it would be.

Tonight, was an example when she had, yet again, failed. After running a simulation against Mr Victor Freeze for a second night in a row, Rosa yelled in frustration, throwing down a Batarang she was about to throw at the simulated Cold Villain.

"Dammit! I was so close that time!" She wanted to actually hit the Sim-Bot that projected Freeze's suit and transparent helmet. It was frozen in motion, pointing his Ice-Blaster right at her. It was supposed to be testing her abilities in stealth and hiding, something with her rather small body, she thought she would ace easily. And yet, she still failed. She looked to Jason, who was at the controls. Cass stood by him, smiling and speaking for the two of them:

"Want to go again? You have time before you have to get back home." She said, looking at her watch. Rosa scowled.

"Why would I go again? I've already failed twice! What's the point of going again?" She said, sinking into a sulk.

"That's the mission," Jason said, bluntly. Rosa looked up, sniffing. "To fight against Crime and Corruption, and never sway from the path of Justice." He quoted. "My mentor put those words into the head of everyone he trained and fought alongside. Including my own."

"But I'm-"

"You're failing this sim because you're overthinking it." Jason kept going. "You're tired, yes, but if you were doing this in real life would that stop you? No. You keep at it. Until you win, or you die trying to win. That's the mission. Making this City a better place by fighting the ones who want to destroy it." A moment between the Teacher and student passed, before Rosa stood back up, wiped her nose and nodded.

"Okay. Let's do it again." She said, forcing a smile. Jason nodded back, resetting the Simulation.

"Want a hint?" He asked her as it loaded back into place. The young girl smiled back properly this time.

"No, I think I have it."

The next day, after school had finished, Rosa was picked up by Cass at the front gate as per usual. She always got a couple of strange glances from other students whenever Cass opened the door to her car, expecting someone that wasn't a young Asian woman. She always got someone asking the same questions the next day: Who was that picking you up? Was it your mom? Are you adopted? And so on. It bothered her that her peers kept asking her about it, but Cass said it didn't matter as long as she stuck to what she was told to say when asked those questions:

"She's my after-school tutor. My Mom's new company is paying for her until we can earn enough to pay for her on our own. She just helps me with Homework really." She didn't like lying, but it was part of keeping her new secret safe. If she ever found someone else that she cared about like her mother, she wanted to keep them as safe as possible.

Her relationship with Cass, though still new, was blooming. Because it took almost half an hour to get to the Batcave every day, they would talk about school, training and life in general, Cass occasionally telling stories of her time as BatGirl and later, Black Bat. Rosa related to her story of being raised by her mother to become the 'ultimate weapon', and how she broke free of that relationship and - for a time - brought her abusive parent to justice. That was Rosa's goal too. If she as Robin could take her Father and brothers in prison, the injustices they attempted on her and her mother could possibly be redeemed. Rosa hated seeing her mother reminisce over them, but she was told by Jason that it would take time for her heart to heal. Apparently, before Batman took him in, he had been through something similar - though he didn't like to talk about it.

"So what's going on with you and Jak?" Rosa asked Cass as they waited at a red light. She visibly swallowed and sighed at the question. That argument they'd had the night he joined had been a week ago, and yet whenever he was needed for patching up Jason, Cass always seemed to be in the room with them. She licked her lips, then finally replied.

"I don't really know. Jak drives me a little bit mad to be honest, like-"

"Drives you mad like angry? Or mad like you like him?" Rosa asked in a teasing tone. The light turned green and Cass started driving again, wincing as she used her injured arm to change gear. She laughed at the tease with a small blush coming over her face.

"It's a little more complicated than that. You and Jason heard that argument we had. Those things he did were… unforgivable."

"And yet Jason brought him in?"

"Jason has a complicated compass when it comes to morality. He brought him in because of his medical skills. He barely trusts him."

"He brought him in under my call, actually," Rosa corrected her. "My father and brothers abused him as well as me and my mother. Called him a dog that was forced to follow orders, no matter how many times he fought back." She could see Cass' face soften in thought as she explained this. "He wants a second chance to be good, right? Just like you did?"

"Yes," Cass nodded, refocusing on the road again while clearly conflicted. "I suppose you're right."


	26. Follow-Up Clues

Chapter 26: Follow-Up Clues.

" _ **Recognised: Nightwing, Bee, Zero, One. Batgirl, Bee, Zero, Two. Timothy-Drake-Wayne, Eff, Zero, Three.**_ "

They came through the Batcave's Zeta-Tube link from Wayne Tower. Barbara had an arm around her future husband as Tim rolled his automatic wheel-chair behind them. Once they were all through, Dick smiled at the small party of friends and family welcoming him back. Jason, Cass, Selena, Helena Bertinelli and Kate Kane, along with Renee Montoya and Jason's new Robin-in-Training, Rosa. A massive makeshift banner had been hastily hung up with words written: " **Welcome Back Dick!"**

"Aw, you guys! For me? You shouldn't have!" Dick said, still getting used to walking on his own. As he and Barb slowly went to hug Jason and Cass, the others could see the results of his operation. An arm-like prosthetic had replaced his right arm - from the hand to his elbow - from Wayne Technologies. He has already covered thanks to the Trust-Funds Bruce had set up for his adopted sons, but Tim made sure he took the road of least resistance when it came to getting it as soon as possible. It also meant that he had a few extra gadgets in there that a normal Wayne Tech arm wouldn't usually have.

"How are you feeling?" Wondered Cass once her hug was done, lightly touching his new prosthesis. "It must feel good to be out of the hospital properly."

"Oh yeah, I was starting to get sick of the same food they brought me every day," He joked back an answer, then hugged Barbara closer. "And I missed a certain someone every time I saw her on the news with the Justice League!" Barb laughed with him. Since Jason had decided to put Batgirl on the League in Batman's place, she'd made a name for herself worldwide, using the Oracle Network while at crime scenes to speed up the League's justice. In the month an a half she'd become a member, people were already starting to recognise her as a worldwide hero. And yet it hadn't gone to Barb's head. Why would it? She was an amazing woman on her own anyway, the top of her class in her third year studying law to become a Defense Lawyer for the downtrodden off Gotham. And Dick? He was going for the Sergeant's exam in the Bludhaven Police when he returned. They deserved each other. Jason turned to Tim.

"And the suit?"

"Lucius, Luke and I tested it's new features this morning before I had him picked up." He said, checking his watch. Dick's attention was turned, unsure what they meant. "They should be here right about…"

" _ **Recognised: Lucius Fox. Double-u, One. Luke Fox. Double-u, Two.**_ " The Batcomputer interrupted Tim as expected, both members of the Fox family entering the Cave. Lucius carried a heavy-looking briefcase in his offhand, slowing him down just a little as he walked. Both of them approached the three ex-Robins and greeted them openly, Luke shaking Jason's hand for both of them.

"Good to have you here, Lucius," Jason said. "Tim said you tested the suit. How are they?"

"Well, how about we see for ourselves, hm?" He said, then turned to Dick. "Mr Grayson, if you would?" He looked at them all with confusion. Even Barb seemed to be excited to see what was about to happen.

"What's going on? What are you talking about?" He asked, clearly frustrated he hadn't figured it out.

"As a… thank you for being so patient while you recovered, we designed you a new suit for Nightwing," Jason explained. Dick was about to protest, but he continued anyway. "I know you said Nightwing may become a part-time after you and Babs are married, but there's no harm done in doing a bit of work now that you've recovered. Try it on at least." Dick sighed and gave a pressed smile.

"Okay. Show me." He said to Lucius, who nodded to his son, passing the briefcase to Dick. A switch was flicked as a retina-scanner looked over his eye, only to open once it recognised him. What was inside, made him smile.

A suit with the Nightwing symbol in a blue paler than usual, it was a mix of his old suit and a Batsuit prototype he himself had designed back in the day. His normal domino masked had been altered to look more bird like, along with something else that he was slightly confused about next to it, and pointed it out to the Fox's.

"What's this? A Gas mask?"

"Of sorts," Lucius explained. "We took inspiration from Mister Todd's new design in the Batsuit. It's an optional part of your mask that covers your mouth too - for when you need an extra push in your stealth. Along with that, the emblem on your chest can be switched off at your wish." Dick nodded, understanding. Next to the suit were his usual choice of weapons - twin Escrima sticks tipped either side with blue to signify the electricity volts they can emit if hit by them. There was also a new design of his Wing-Ding throwing stars.

"What are your thoughts, Mister Grayson?" Lucius asked once Dick had soaked it all in.

"I think I'd be happy to try it on." He replied looking to Jason with a grin.

"Good," Jason nodded back happily. "Just don't take too long staring at your ass in the mirror. I want you helping me with Rosa's last hour of training before we go out tonight."

"Really? I'm a little out of practice with that."

"Don't worry," He reassured. "We're only playing 'Catch the Mask'. Should be a good way to get you back into training." Dick's smile widened as he heard the new Robin's audible groan. He was the master of 'Catch the Mask' - mainly cause he invented the game. It would be fun to play again.

Later that night, Batman, Black Bat and Robin went out to patrol together. Rosa was still getting the hand of grappling from building to building, but her skills as a roof-runner were getting there. Apparently, she'd had practice in Spain and England, from the few friends she made back there. Cass came with, as her injury had now healed. She wanted to train it in the field instead of sitting with Tim as a backup. Plus it meant she could watch Rosa's back too, who only went out with missions like this because there was little danger. Usually, she would be home now to make sure her mother wouldn't worry, but Tim made sure that she stayed home late that night, so she was safe enough.

They were all heading for The Iceberg Lounge; Oswald Cobblepot's Jazz Club and front for his criminal empire. Obviously, the main entrance was a no go as they'd be shot on site. All Jason wanted to see tonight was Cobblepot alone so they could talk about his recent plans. Selena and the Outsider's catching him and other Crime Bosses in the act of talking a coup against Paladin was interesting. And even though that plan had been cut in half, thanks to The Outsiders and the Police of Bludhaven arresting Two-Face and Black Mask; Cobblepot managed to escape. So Jason wanted to stop by to see if he could get anything else out of the Penguin.

They all perched on the edge of a building across the way from The Lounge. Even when approaching it, they could hear the music from the inside. The band had been playing basic Jazz music, but it seemed as though they were waiting, it had been changed to a more reggae theme. Whether on purpose or not, it didn't matter, Jason knew that would get Cobblepot out in the open, even if just for a moment. Being the 'Man of Culture' that he claimed to be, Penguin most likely despised anything that wasn't Classical or Jazz music. The three of them watched his rooftop bungalow closely, awaiting the short stubby man to exit so they could make their approach.

"What's the plan, then?" Rosa asked curiously, taking her eyes away from her binoculars that looked down on the scene.

"We're just here for information about your Father's next move. We know he wants to betray him and we know that he had a plan in motion with other Crime Bosses to do it." Jason replied.

"So we use that against him as blackmail? Or force his hand to do it anyway?" Rosa said, believing she was finishing his game-plan.

"No." Clearly, she'd been wrong. Jason's reply was stiff and prepared, and he sounded a little annoyed that Rosa had butted in like that. He continued, "Penguin's plan with the other Bosses would mean a war in the city, which we don't want or need."

"So, what's the plan instead?" Rosa asked, still confused and suddenly a little less confident. She looked back at her binoculars for a moment to check on the rooftop and saw their target. When she looked back to her two mentors, they were gone, having clearly moved once Penguin showed himself. Not remembering any instruction to stay where she was, Rosa followed, getting into her character of Robin.

Cobblepot wasn't alone on the balcony as he lit a cigarette and attached it to a long pipe to smoke it from. Three men were with him, badly keeping watch; and there seemed to be two more were inside waiting as a backup - but it was hard to tell. Still, it was easy enough to distract and put them down without a fight. Jason would cause a distraction, Cass would take them down. Within five minutes, all of his outside forces were silently put to sleep. And when Cobblepot turned back around to look for them, all he saw was Batman.

"Fuck! Boys we' ve-" Batman slapped him silent before he could say anything more.

" _Don't be stupid._ " He said, his voice modulator clearly surprising the older man as he saw his eyes widen. Jason knew this was the first proper time he'd seen the new bat and was using it to his advantage. " _I'm here for information and nothing else. Give me what I want and I'll give you a chance to get out of Gotham alive. Once in a lifetime opportunity. Don't waste it._ " Cobblepot stood silent, considering the options. Eventually, he groaned in frustration and raised his arms in surrender.

"Fine. Ask your damn questions and make it quick. I can't exactly be seen talking to ya, y'know..." He said in a sulky manner, hunching his shoulders up, staring angrily at his inquisitor.

" _You and Dent had a plan to overthrow Paladin. What was it?_ " Cobblepot physically flinched at the question.

"Legally speaking, I'm not at-" Another hit across the face from Batman's gauntlet stopped him from dodging the question. "FINE, fine! Dent and I wanted to use the Maroni, Falcone and Siones Families to target Paladin's men! We'd give the targets and they'd attack them! Then we were gonna convince him to go to war with them so we could delay his stupid sacrifice of the City!" Batman picked him up by the collar and lifted him so his body was hanging above the road next to his club. He added:

" _Elaborate! What's he doing?!_ "

"His sacrifice to become a Demi-God says he needs a witnessing population of at least one-hundred strangers to make it work!" He screamed in fear. "And he said he's got friends who'll help him collect those numbers easily!"

" _Who, Cobblepot? Tell me who!_ "

"Ra's Al Ghul!" He screamed, eyes closed and regretting the break immediately. "And the League of Shadows! That's all I know, I swear!" Batman was about to drop Penguin from the height they were at, only to get called out by a girl's voice. Cobblepot's eyes opened and saw that the Bat had a new Bird on his side. One he somehow half recognised...

"We've got what we need Batman," She said, placing a hand on his arm to try and pacify him. "Put him down." Batman seemed to growl under his faceplate but did so slowly. Once back on the floor of his balcony, Cobblepot brushed himself off, trying not to look at the girl too closely, but mentally checking his memory bank for anything. Suddenly, a thought came to his mind that he liked a little too much. He smiled and said,

"So, now that you're done asking me questions, how about I ask you one?"

" _What?_ " Batman replied, still clenching a fist. Cobblepot made a point not to aggravate him further. He could tell the Dark Knight's mind was racing with thoughts thanks to the information he just gave.

"Are you gonna kill him?" He was provoking him on purpose and risking getting thrown off the building again, but he wanted to see if he could find out if _this_ Bat had the same compass as the _old one_.

" _I do not Murder._ " Batman returned, angry at the suggestion more than anything. " _Even if they're criminals like you._ "

"Really? That isn't what I heard from Nigma and his men. Along with the GCPD." Penguin smiled grimly, watching the tall Knight flinch slightly with his fist. His hunch was right. He happily continued, starting to pace as he talked.

"I heard when he set Bane on you and Black Bat, you put more than a couple of fatal cuts on his body. Left him to die, bleeding out on the floor of the basement he was trapped in. The _Old Bat_ would have at least taken him outside, given him to the Cops. But you? You took your partner, went to your car and you fucked off…

So I'm wondering: _Who is under that mask?_ And are they willing to bend that oh so famous rule of the Dark Knight if it meant helping enemies for the greater good? And then, I repeat: Are you gonna kill Paladin? We both want him gone, right? Why not let me do that little scheme of mine? Do some harm to his business while the Shadows approach. You could even help protect our mutual friends doing the attacks. And then once his scheme has started to crumble around him, you take fancy sword hidden somewhere on your belt and you put it through him - Saving this City a whole lot of trouble. And then we go back to acting as nothing happened."

Once he finished his monologue, Cobblepot was promptly punched in his gut, forcing all of the wasted air he just spat at Batman with his proposal. By the time he'd recovered and looked back up, they were gone from view, but not from ear-shot.

"Dios Mios, Batman. I could feel the heat off of you as he said all of that… Are you okay?"

" _Fine Robin. We got what we need. Let's get you home before your mother calls you._ "

Oswald smiled to himself as his new guards arrived on the scene. The Irishmen looked around, then back to their boss. He was still smiling.

"Mr O'Flanders," He started, a laugh escaping as a new plan formed in his mind. "Get Paladin on the Phone. I think I know where his Daughter and Wife are."


	27. The Demon Rears his Head

Chapter 27: The Demon Rears His Head

When he heard the news from over the phone, Jesús almost dropped it out of his hand. Rósa was the Bat's new Robin? It sounded stupid and yet it somehow made sense. In his original tongue, he swore loudly. He was an idiot to test the Ritual with her present. He had gotten comfortable driving around with Cobblepot's security and was stupid not to think the Batman wouldn't be on to him by that point. Now he had his daughter. Once the call with his ally ended, Nazerath practically destroyed the device in his hand out of rage. His sons were all standing by watching as he slowly recovered his senses.

"Father," His eldest César started cautiously. "We'll find her. Luca and Diego and I, we'll find the Batman and-"

"No. The Batman is MINE to deal with. You find Rosa while she is _away_ from the Bat. So she cannot contact him and so he knows we know about her new secret."

"What about Mother?" Luca asked. "Do we find her too?" His father looked up. He hadn't seen his beloved Elisa in weeks and yet, as Luca spoke of her, all he could feel in his heart was the rage at her for abandoning his cause. Like he was nothing to her. If that was the case, then he would cast her aside too.

"She is, for now, irrelevant." He decided. "If your sister fails the Sacrifice, we find her so another child can be made for the sacrifice." The three boys looked as if they were about to protest such a vile comment about the woman who raised them all. Jesús put a stop to it before it started with a rabid growl.

Since the disappearance of his wife and daughter, things had not been going well for the self-acclaimed Paladin. He'd had an argument with the Two-Faced Harvey Dent about where his men were going, which almost risked losing ally, after losing his control on Bane weeks beforehand, Edward Nigma had disappeared to some hidden laboratory of his where he was working on something, and Cobblepot was becoming tighter with the money he was giving to their cause. Once he found out Dent and other Crime Bosses connected to Gotham had been arrested for some reason in Blüdhaven, he was starting to lose his head a little. And that was all before he heard Ra's Al Ghul and his League of Shadows were coming back to Gotham to inspect his work.

"His Grace is expected soon." César continued, speaking of the man in question "As members of the Shadows, we must all be there to greet him properly." Again, Nazerath growled to himself. In the time knowing him, Ra's Al Ghul had not been kind to him at all. If anything he had been condescending, laughing at his plan to use Gotham as the place to unlock the secrets of The Red Kite, and in the process, start a new Age of Worship in the West. The only reason The Demon's Head even funded his project was that Jesús swore that after he unlocked the secrets, he would pass Gotham off to the Shadows to do what they wanted. Obviously, that meant killing the Bat, which until recently, Jesús arrogantly thought would be a simple task. Obviously, he'd been proven wrong there too.

"We prepare for his arrival." He told his eldest, who nodded gratefully.

"There is little need for that, Young César…" An all too familiar voice both interrupted and rang in the air, interrupting the family meeting. They all turned as the man - along with a small group of body-guards - they expected had already arrived, and had been listening in on their conversation. "They were aware of my true time of arrival long before any of you. Need I remind you, Nazerath, that the men who serve you, are loyal to _me first_ , and your cause second." The three brothers bowed low at the sight of their Father's Patron. The Paladin, however, stood his ground.

"That may change when the sacrifice is complete."

"Is that threat, Nazerath?" Ra's calmly questioned. "Because I believe this City's Detective has taken your only candidate of sacrifice away, no?"

"A minor setback. Rósa is the right choice for the sacrifice to make the ascension. Everything else is for the night has gone according to plan. The one hundred strangers needed will be present."

"Agreed," The 500-year-old Immortal properly stepped into their space now, his face smug as he continued. "But they will not be my volunteers, not your randomly selected community from the City." Jesús' glare could be felt by everyone in the room because of this.

"With respect, _your grace_ , that was not our arrangement. I said I would find my volunteers on my own, and my plan to do so has been nothing but successful. It is _my destiny_ that you are treading on."

"I will tread on anyone I wish, Nazerath. May I remind you of our first conversation when you told me about your little plan. How you traced your bloodline to the last man who tried the Red Kite sacrifice - I saw an obsession in your eyes as you used that word over and over. You weren't convincing me; you were convincing yourself, and I congratulate you for doing so because it means I can now tell you the truth on the matter." Al Ghul looked Nazerath in the eyes as he continued, never raising his voice, though there was clear fury in his eyes. "I was there, the last time that so-called Sacrifice to God was made. I saw the fool who killed his own child - a boy no younger than 10 years old - in front of the 100 strangers, he had gathered for it. He cut the boy's throat like he was nothing and received _nothing_. The fool had forgotten to consider that those watching were strangers to both him and his son, which was true - as I was a teacher to him at the time. The fool later lost his head both figuratively and literally. That is what will happen to you too if you fail the sacrifice. You will go mad, as you realise that you killed your child, then I will kill you, and send you to hell for doing so."

"I will not fail like the fool before." Again, Paladin tried to stand his ground, but it was no use. Ra's pulled back slightly.

"Funny," He said. "That's what the fool said about the man before him. If you want immortality, there are easier ways to gain it…" He started to walk out of Nazerath's office. "If you do fail, perhaps I will give you a taste of what it feels like to cheat death - only to take it from you just as quickly."

The Demon had reared his head. And Jesús had blinked

 ** _A/N: Hi guys, been a while since I did this so I thought I might as well. Just wanted to say that it has now been a year since I started this story, and so I wanted to once again thank all of those that have been supporting it through, favourites, follows and reviews. It really does keep me going. Now that summer is here, I plan to have a chapter out every two weeks so I can finish this in time for the next arc, which I've already started planning. Hopefully, you'll join me for that story too._**


	28. The Risk Of Being Alone

Chapter 28: The Risk of Being Alone

Another day at Rosa's school had finished, and while usually, she picked up by Cass for training, she had managed to convince them that she needed a day to be social every now and again. In this case, she was walking home with her new friend and classmate in her English class, Lisa Patton. She had been the first to say hi to Rosa on her first day at the school, and since then had stuck close to her and introduced a few other friends as well. They were, for the most part, stereotypical nerds with good grades and little interest in sport, but that didn't matter. Rosa was happy to be friends with people outside of the 'Bat-Circle' and had a good thing going with them. True, she kept missing out on most of their get-togethers outside of school and had to keep the lie going about her needing a personal tutor outside of school hours, but it was worth it. Today of all days though, she was especially happy. The Weekend was coming up and Lisa was talking about doing a sleepover in a few nights time to watch for the Blood-Moon that would be over the City. Most of the group were in, but Rosa had yet to say if she was going.

"Rosie?" Lisa snapped her out of her thought bubble. "You wanna come too?" Her voice was caring and sweet towards. Rosa suspected that there was a small crush forming, but she wasn't sure.

"Yeah, you haven't been to any of our stuff since you met us! Why is that?" Asked Matty Ford, an acne-scarred boy that was a little too smart for his own good. "You keep saying you have your Tutor or whatever, but does she see you on weekends?"

"No," Rosa lied. "But my mom doesn't like me going out right now while dad is still…" She trailed off trying to think of a good excusable word that didn't link him to being Paladin, but they seemed to understand. She moved back to their topic. "I'll talk to her tonight though and try to convince her I'll be safe."

"I can give you my mom's number if she asks you to see if where we live is safe." Lisa offered. "I just feel like you should be here for this one, y'know?"

"Yeah, I get it. It's just my mom's still not used to living without my dad and is scared of letting me out for anything but school." That was the truth. Even after she had started to work for Wayne Enterprises, Rosa would still hear her mother cry into her pillow some nights, after making small mistakes like making meals big enough for a family of six. Rosa wanted to tell her the truth about her being Robin so much but knew it would probably put her in the hospital out for anxiety.  
She smiled back at her friends. "But I'll talk to her," She checked the time on her phone quickly, seeing if she could be on break. It had just gone Three Fifteen in the afternoon, but as she turned the screen off, she noticed a strange movement in the reflection. As if someone on a building above them was watching them - or most likely, her.

"You guys go on ahead," She said to Lisa, Matty and the others. "I'll call her to see what she's doing at work and ask her about the sleep-over." They all agreed, with Lisa telling Rosa where her family's apartment was and her mom's number as well. Once they were gone, Rosa moved down an alleyway and started to get out her Robin Belt, Mask and Staff. She didn't have her suit, and she hadn't trained today but was feeling lucky.

"You know what the risk of being alone is, little birdie?" A feminine voice echoed around her. Rosa expanded her Bo-Staff and put her back against the wall, making sure the source of the voice wasn't behind her, but she was wrong. When she turned back, the woman who spoke was in front of her, wearing a Jade-Green Gi over Black, along with a headband of the same colours and a black mask that covered her mouth with a toothy grin painted on to replace it. She repeated the start of her riddle, then finished it: "A cat might catch you in the garden."

"Who are you?" She asked, standing her ground against the strange woman, though she was incredibly scared.

"A friend of your family," She replied. "Your _true_ family, that is. Shadows are surrounding this City, awaiting the Moon to bleed. For the Red Kite to fly…" She took a slow step forward, but Rosa didn't flinch. As the two stared each other down, Rosa took the moment to reach for her belt to try and signal the Batcave that she was in danger. And that's when she leapt and attacked with two Sai Knives in her hands.

Reacting quickly, Rosa moved away from the first attack, blocking both knives and quickly parrying them with her staff. She jumped off the wall to her left as an escape manoeuvre, but the Jade Assassin was quicker than Rosa, stepping ahead of her and breaking her guard - and dropping her staff - with ease. Rosa attempted to fight back again with hand to hand, but was deflected easily and put to the ground by her opponent's knee in her stomach, only making the pain worse by grabbing one of her arms and dislocating it. Rosa screamed in shock of disarming, as the Woman looked down at her.

"Aw, baby bird crippled her wing," She mocked, a clear pout on her lips even if she couldn't see her mouth. "Why don't I take you back to your nest, so we can fix it up?" Rosa was still in shock but acted as if she was about to pass out from it, seeing that the woman was now listening to something in her ear. She had a communicator and was taking orders.

"First Prince, this is Cheshire. I have your baby sister with me. She's a little beat up but we can fix that for your daddy. Sending you my coordinates now."

César responded on the other end with a thank you and see you soon. Before Rosa did finally blackout, she finally managed to click the button on her belt to warn the Bat-Cave. She just hoped that someone, Jason, Cass or even Tim, was watching. Because the Blood Moon was this weekend.


	29. Never Again

Chapter 29: Never Again

" _ **ALERT. ALERT. ROBIN 06, POTENTIALLY COMPROMISED.**_ " The Batcomputer rang out the same warning over and over, waking Jason and Cass up from their separate beds in the Cave. Both eyes widened as they heard the complete message, they ran to the screen to look for context. Her signal had been manually triggered by her belt, which meant she must have gotten into a fight with someone.

"Robin, come in! What's your status! Robin!" Cass was calling her name down her communicator; trying her best to stay calm.

"I'm finding her signal now," Jason said, at the Computer locking onto the belt. "If I can find the belt, I can get the most recent footage from her mask and… shit."

The moment they saw Cheshire on from the point of view from their new Robin, they knew what stakes they were at. Watching the whole fight through was hard enough for both of them without realising what could happen to her. As the clip of Cheshire talking to whoever 'First Prince' was, Jason's fists clenched together and slammed desk of the computer in rage. Thoughts started to race around his head, memories flooding back because of what happened to him all those years ago. How quickly it was to take her down. How quickly she went to the ground because of the pain. How close she was to getting killed because of his ignorance of the situation.

The League of Shadows would do anything to sew the seeds of Chaos, especially in Gotham City thanks to both Ra's and Talia Al Ghul's obsession over Bruce Wayne. He had once been a part of one of their schemes that cost him his life - only for them to bring him back and manipulate him for years later. As he looked at the now black screen from Rosa's footage, he reminded himself of his oath to Bruce, and himself. Never again will someone have to die because of a criminal's want for power, money or control over the people. Never again would he be a hypocrite for ruling others through fear and intimidation by the end of a pistol in the name of Justice and Freedom. Never again would a Robin die on duty protecting themselves or others. Never again will a boy lose his parents in an alleyway to a thug looking for a simple mugging.

All of a sudden, Jason blinked his mind racing as he thought about everything he had learned from this case. "Paladin's sacrifice… Ra's Al Ghul and The Shadows… It's a trade." He connected the dots to clear his trauma, if not for a moment. Cass looked to him in confusion, unsure if she understood. Jason clarified as if it was obvious. "Paladin's sacrifice, him becoming the Red Kite through Rosa. If he does so, he helps the Shadows destroy Gotham and rebuild it in their image. But if it fails, what happens to Paladin and his sons?" Now Cass understood and caught up with him in his line of thinking

"His eldest son César was training to be a Shadow before they came to Gotham - so they have some kind of alliance, but if the sacrifice fails, and Nazerath doesn't become a Demi-God like he wants to?"

"Then it's likely the Shadows cut their losses and attack the City anyway."

"Agreed. And if they have Cheshire with them, then that means they could have brought other A-Listers." Jason nodded with her.

"Deadshot, Deathstroke, Black Spider, Sensei…" He began to list all the names that came to his head. "Maybe even some others outside of the Shadows hired for the sake of security."

"Lady Shiva," Cass mentioned, looking back at the clip. Jason frowned for a moment.

"We don't know that they brought her back Cass. Ra's and your Mother were never close."

"No, we do." She pointed to the clip again. He had barely spotted it before, and Cass had to slow it down for them to see it at all, but just before Rosa's camera blacked out, the familiar blood-red and black costume could be seen reuniting with Cheshire. Though they never saw her face, there was little point denying something staring them in the face. And although this was terrible for Cass, who hated her mother, this news was bigger than both of them.

Cass' mother had been thought dead for the past two and a half years after Ra's successful coup to retake the Shadows succeeded. Jason remembered hearing about it and asking Bruce if he could interfere, just to stop the Shadows from refocusing back to the world instead of the constant infighting that had been happening while she was in charge. But Bruce lied and said he already had an agent out there. Maybe he couldn't have changed it back then, but now? He had to defend his City.

"Cass. Tell Tim to get on Comms ASAP. I'm going to end this now before it can start." He said, starting to walk to his suit to get changed, only for his partner to stop him.

"You're going to stop Paladin and all of the Shadows alone?"

"If that's the mission I'll do what it takes to stop all of them. You should know that."

"Not by yourself. Let me help you. Call in the Outsiders, Dick and Barbara and anyone else you need!"

"That will take time we don't have Cass if I go now, I save Rosa and they'll be stuck again!"

"Or they'll just kill you both!"

"Then I'll kill them before they kill me!"

The two stared each other down. Jason's fists were still clenched, but he knew would never use them against Cass in anger. Clearly, neither of them expected such an outburst, nor such a dark one. Cass could see the look in Jason's eyes was one of immediate regret and pain from such a comment. Once again his mind raced as he tried to think of every kind of excuse for himself, only to come up with nothing. Even after abandoning his old ways in the name of protecting the name of the Batman and Gotham, there was still a rage inside him that he once used to justify his killings as the Red Hood. Even after he swore to never again use such tactics.

Jason took a deep breath and let go of the plan, massaging his face with both hands, thinking of alternatives. Cass slowly approached him, placing a hand on his shoulder to calm him.

"We have three days Jason, but we need to make a decision now. Because you going alone could lead to… what you just said."

"Right… Let's get back to work." Jason exhaled again and stood up properly. They both turned back to the computer, preparing to consider their options, only to be interrupted by…

" _ **RECOGNISED: Timothy-Drake-Wayne, Eff, Zero, Three.**_ " Tim rolled out of the Cave's Zeta-Tube, carrying a case, similar to the one Lucius carried when they saw him at Dick's returning party. He wore a face of urgency, and quickly read the room to understand what they were doing.

"Whatever you're doing next, you're going to need to do better than what you have right now." He said, lifting up the thick case. "And I've been working on upgrades for both of you." He placed it down, opened it and showed them inside.

As they peered in, Jason smiled to his friends, glad he hadn't left. They had a lot of work to do in a small amount of time.


	30. The Moon Shines

Chapter 30: The Moon Shines 18:00 - Six Hours until the Ritual

For the first time since he was a boy, Jason looked into the Abyss. Stared into it as his mentor told him to on the first night of his duty as Robin. Truly, it was just the edge of a cliff where the majority of the Bats in the cave nested, but now, it was something more. It was Bruce's spot. Where he went to think every night before he went out. Where he brooded over those he had lost. Thanked those who had made him the man he was. And now those thoughts came to Jason. He stared out into the black.

And it stared back.

"Is everything ready?"

"Yes Father, the preparations will be completed within the hour."

"Good," Jesús said, turning to his son in his full armoured outfit, placing his cleaned and sharpened sword in its scabbard and on his hip. "Inform his Grace that his… witnesses should start their own preparations for their sacrifice."

"As long as you are alive Father, their lives will not die in vain," Luca responded, bowing his head and leaving to obey his orders. Jesús turned back around and smiled. Smiled down at his daughter, who had been sleeping before, but was now awake and glaring back at him through the bars of the small cage she had been trapped in.

" _Something the matter, Pretty Flower?_ " He spoke to her in Spanish as if nothing was happening tonight.

"Don't call me that." She spat back in English, refusing to acknowledge his false sincerity. "Only my mother can call me that. You're insane."

"If your final wish is to denounce me, then do it. It won't be long until your brothers and I must do the same to you." The emotion in his voice had left. Now he was cold to her, seeing her as nothing but the point of his sacrifice. "When the Moon bleeds, you will too. Through your blood, I will ascend, and a new era for this city - and later the world - will begin."

"The only thing this City will do tonight is rejecting you, your sons, and the evil you have aligned yourself with." Rosa immediately responded. "It's heroes will find you and put you all where you belong!"

"Again you refer to the Batman and his little army. And again, I remind you that it has been three days since your oldest brother found and took you here. They have yet to show their faces at all, so perhaps your recruitment into their group was nothing but a false play? Or maybe they just don't care enough to rescue you?"

"They'll come." She refused to back down. "They're heroes. Heroes save people. They saved me from you once, and they'll do it again."

"They can certainly try, Pretty Flower." Her Father said, beginning to leave their room and the conversation. "But this time, I have an army of my own." A laugh exited with him as he moved into the exterior of where the main event would happen. Ten dozen faceless members of the League of Shadows trained their bodies, preparing themselves for the ritual. Jesús beamed. Come midnight, he would be above all of them.

18:55 - Five Hours and Five Minutes until the Ritual

"So, what's your bet for tonight?" Cheshire asked Shiva as they both routinely sharpened their weapons.

"Hm?"

"Your bet? Surely you heard about the money pool Slade put out last night?" She encouraged, clearly in the mood to talk her opinion regardless of whether Shiva felt the same. "About what will happen tonight, if this whole 'blood ascension' thing will work or not."

Right now, they were the only ones off duty, as their Master wanted them and the others most loyal to him, away from the sacrifice in case it did work. So now they were working as glorified security guards for the perimeter of Paladin's building, with orders to make sure no one would interfere with Nazerath's plan for the night. But that didn't mean they couldn't bet their well-made blood-money on bets around this scenario.

"I was most likely on duty. And even then, I don't take part in such behaviour." Shiva sternly replied after pausing to see if she recalled the memory. Cheshire ignored the response and continued her thought process anyway.

"But you must have an opinion, right?" She asked again. "Will the Bat save his new bird? Will Nazerath actually ascend because of his daughter's blood? Will his Grace allow for another Immortal at his side? So many questions and possible outcomes for the night ahead. Personally, I doubt every one of the above, save the Bat showing up to try and stop everything."

"I do not care what happens tonight, as long as I am paid to do my duty I will make sure the sacrifice happens," Shiva said, just as blunt as before. "If the Bat comes alone we'll kill him. If he comes with one or two members of his group, we'll kill them. And if he comes with an army or the Justice League at his back, we'll kill all of them."

"You think he'd bring the Justice League to this? And you also think you could take _Superman?_ "

"He's been killed before," She reasoned. "Besides, I believe the Bat is not the only one with weapons made of Kryptonite. One conversation I _did_ overhear was Deathstroke showing off his latest weapon - one that carried a very similar green glow to the rock that has weakened him so many times, courtesy of Lex Luthor."

Now Cheshire was bored with this conversation. As always when she tried to befriend Shiva in conversations like this, she chose logic over emotions and refused to at least humour her with normal talk. Even Slade was more talkative, and the two had been rivals for a long time. Hell, the only reason she'd said yes to helping Ra's out in this job was in case he needed help cutting Nazerath loose. Because that was the part she did know was going to happen: a betrayal. If Nazerath's Ascension was successful, the remaining Shadows under The Demon's Head would be ordered to put him and the rest of his family in the dirt along with his daughter. Then they would do the same to the City - making sure no one in a Bat Costume or similar got in the way. That was the part she was looking forward to the most. Because when it would eventually fail, she could leave early, rendezvous back later after taking some non-Shadow contracts and say she got caught in a fight with some C-List hero and never heard the order to retreat.

"Cheshire," The voice of Floyd Lawton, Deadshot, came over both Shiva and Cheshire's radios. Jade glanced at the clock on the wall before responding. It had just gone 1900 hours, so it made sense that Lawton was calling them up to check in. She picked up the radio and responded.

"Go ahead,"

"Bat Signal went up half an hour ago, like always. I figured after the last couple of nights it'd give up after an hour or so, but it just switched off."

"Your point being?"

"The Bats are out tonight. We need every eye we can get."

"So send Firefly out to do some scouting. That's his job."

"Already done. Slade wants you and Shiva out anyways." Jade looked to Shiva, who was shaking her head in disagreement but refused to respond. Jade rolled her eyes and spoke for her.

"Shiva's staying indoors, protecting the kid before it's time. I'll be up soon."

"Fine. Be quick."

Jade put her mask back on, smiling to herself under it. This was where the fun began.

19:30 - Four and a Half Hours until the Ritual

" _Focus. Keep calm, and focus…_ " Those were the words repeating in her mind as Rosa went to the front of her small cage, attempting to pick the lock on the door. In the three days she'd been there, the routine was a simple one. She would be in the cage for most of the day, except for the times when she needed the toilet, food and to just walk around. Whenever that happened though, she was constantly under guard by members of the Shadows, and at least one of her brothers. However, even with all the security, there was one advantage she still had - her Robin belt. No matter how hard they tried to get it off, that was the only time she would resist. To the point where even her Father had let her keep it on as a sign.

" _Let her wear it."_ He had said. " _When the Bat comes and he sees her dead and me ascended, he will know he has failed and will submit."_

Obviously, that was a stupid move. Rosa wasn't trained with everything in the belt yet, but she figured if she was stuck in the cage for most of the day, she would go through it whenever she was alone and figure out what all of it was. Mere minutes after the last conversation with her Father, she realised she had a Lockpicking kit. So now, after practising on the empty cage next to her, Rosa was going to pick her own. Or at least attempt to. This being her second lock ever, she knew she would have to be extremely careful and patient; making sure to listen out for both the click of the mechanism inside of the lock, as well as anyone entering the room.

Slowly, she inserted the first part of the kit, the torque. From what she remembered of her brief training with Jason, by inserting the torque and applying a small amount of pressure she would nearly eliminate the risk that the tumblers on the inside of the lock fall out of place. From there, using the actual pick, she would have to carefully find each spot in the mechanism that would unlock it as a whole. All while keeping an eye and an ear out for guards coming in to check on her.

So not impossible, but certainly difficult.

She began with the first of the pins out of the likely five. Carefully, Rosa tapped up with the pick upward, making it slowly move up to the correct point, keeping the pressure on enough to make it stay once she moved onto the second.

" _This is easier than I thought it would be."_ She thought as she got the second of the lock's pins in place already " _Almost too easy…"_

Suddenly anxious, Rosa scanned the room again to confirm she was truly alone and not being watched, attempting to keep the pressure up on the two pins. She cursed to herself under her breath, spotting a camera in the corner that had been going back and forth but was now focusing on her directly. If the camera had spotted her, she wasn't going to be in too much trouble depending on who was coming. And if she worked quickly enough, she could possibly use it to her advantage. She decided to keep going and let someone come if at all. By the time she had the third pin locked, she heard a different clicking sound from the door to the room itself.

In stepped her older brother Luca. Unlike the last situation like this, he was now armed with a pistol that was currently holstered by the barrel being stuffed down his pants. He swaggered in and looked around, giving Rosa just enough time to move away from the front of the cage. If she was lucky, he wouldn't see the kit with her, or the unlocked cage next to her that was locked before.

"Well?" She eventually asked after a short lull of nothing went by. "Why are you here Luca?"

"Well, I _was_ here to say my last goodbye, Rosa." He replied, overacting his offence to try and trick her. "But clearly you don't care enough."

"Oh yes, because I'm so appreciative of the cage Father has put me in." She snapped back, surprising Luca slightly.

"Your time away from father has made you more confident. Such a shame too, the Shadows could have used you for other things. But then I suppose you are living out your true purpose."

"This is not where my story ends." She glared at him intensely. "You know it too. Batman made me his Robin. Which means I know how to put you down." That made Luca scoff like he always did at her. Usually whenever she said something that was correct, but he refused to acknowledge came from her. It used to bother her, but now she knew why. It was the classic jealousy of the middle child. Which was something Rosa would most certainly use.

"Too bad you're stuck in there and I'm out here," He said, cracking his knuckles. "Otherwise I'd tell you to prove it."

"I can still prove it. Just unlock the cage and let me get out. All you have to do is put me back in there."

"And why should I listen to you?"

"Because it would show Father you're not a failure."

That was enough to strike a nerve. Rosa watched as Luca's fist slammed against the top of the cage, swearing in Spanish for good measure. Then she heard the scraping of metal against the metal of her trap. She smiled inwardly. The key had lazily been placed on the top of it. It's not like she would have reached it, but even so, it meant that she would need to hide in a better place once dealing with her idiot brother. Luca unlocked the cage door for her and beckoned her out with a growl.

"Go on then, _Little Petal_." He mocked her nickname in another failed attempt to scare her as she got out and stood up for the first time in six hours. "Prove it."

"Gladly," she said, swinging and hitting for his stomach first, then finishing him off with a punch to the jaw.

" _Right, step one is done."_ She thought to herself whilst dragging Luca's body into the larger cage and locking it. " _What was step two again?"_

20:00 - Four hours before the Ritual

A Full Moon shone down on Gotham with a clear night sky, and all the local weather reports predicted a Lunar Eclipse by midnight. On any other night, and in any other city, people might have stayed up to see it take place. But the people of Gotham, a city full of superstitions and myths, saw it as a chance to stay inside and have an early night instead. Thus why it was so unrealistically quiet out tonight as the Batman, Black Bat, Nightwing and Batgirl all stood and looked out to it.

Their plan to save Robin was about to take place. All they needed was a signal from Sage on the Bat-Drone to let them know it was time. As they were waiting though, Batman suddenly received an unexpected message on his HUD.

 _ **This is Robin,**_ It said, with urgency. _**I have escaped where Paladin has been holding me and am hiding somewhere safe. Whatever plan you have to save me, go along with it. Don't let them know where I am. Reply if necessary.**_

He smiled under his new helmet. Two weeks of training and Rosa already understood the mission. He activated his suit's power glove and turned to a message - one to Sage, and spoke aloud.

"Sage, what do your Drone eyes see?" He joked to relieve the tension with his team.

" _They've taken Robin to Otisburg!_ " Sage replied, going along with the joke. It seemed to make him and Nightwing laugh, but the others didn't see the joke in it.

"What's the perimeter look like?"

" _Busy,_ " The Feed of the Bat-Drone came up on everyone's HUDs for them to watch. "Security is top end Shadows. Seems they've got a scout of their own to look out for us." The footage zoomed in on Firefly, who was flying close by, but not close enough for it to be spotted. Batman looked to Black Bat and the others, who were all studying the layout of Paladin's building.

"The best way to get on is through here," Batgirl finally said, her analytical skills being the fastest. She had sent out the guideline of her route into the building, showing a weak point in the perimeter at the Eastern entrance. Sage seemed to be looking at it too, cross-referencing it with his footage.

" _Maybe, but I have a feeling that might be the obvious route… Possibly one they're using as bait to catch us off guard._ "

"Let's test that, shall we?" Batman weighed in, switching channels quickly. "Outsiders, do you read?"

" _Loud and clear, Bats,_ " Huntress responded.

"Status?"

" _Standing close by the target building. Age already informed us where it is._ " Batwoman this time. " _Your orders?_ "

"Head for the Eastern entrance. Security there is weak, but we suspect it's a trap. Spring it and keep those that respond out of the way. We'll find a different entry point." He switched back to the previous channel. "Batgirl?"

Already found a better way," she said. She sent out separate routes that would have them meet up at the same position. "If you meet anyone along the way, engage for as long as possible to allow others to get past and in."

"Agreed. If we make ourselves look unorganised we will split their attention and make them overconfident, then use it to our advantage."

"Nice to see you put me in the eye-sight of Slade, babe," Nightwing said as he looked over his path. "You know me so well."

"Just doing my bit, bird-boy," She teased back, looking to Batman for anything else. He was preparing for his own path.

"Alpha team, move out." He ordered, with them all jumping off and heading to the location of the night in their directions.


	31. Descension

Chapter 31: Descension

20:15

In the ten minutes they had broken off separately, things had not gone well. Shortly after doing so, Nightwing had been shot at from afar by Deathstroke, and after being closed in he was forced into a confrontation with the assassin on his own. Usually, Jason would have been confident of Dick's abilities to at least go to a stalemate with Slade Wilson, but even with the training he had been doing, he wasn't close to being back at his peak condition.

" _Keep us updated on Nightwing's situation as it develops, Sage,_ " Jason heard Batgirl over their comms. " _I'm close by and could-_ "

"Negative," Batman interrupted quickly for all of them to hear. "Stick to the plan. Nightwing, hold him off for as long as you can and keep him away from the rendezvous point. The moment you have an opening, disappear and meet with us."

" _Yup, that's what I'm doing right now,_ " Nightwing updated himself. " _The_ only _problem is he's- Unnf!_ " A short pause of sharp breathing before he continued, " _...He's gotten a little better since I last fought him._ "

" _Which was when?_ " Batgirl asked. Jason bit his tongue, knowing it wouldn't help his argument.

" _Not recently. A year and a half, maybe two years._ " Dick replied after what sounded like land and roll onto the ground.

Jason didn't like the odds on that, but it didn't matter. In the worst-case scenario where Slade followed him to the meeting point for all of them, they could probably put him down together. Besides, Dick wasn't the only one who needed to sort out a score with Slade. Glancing around his perimeter he could see Cass, conveniently close by as they both approached the point. No one else was in the shadows following them. But as he scanned his area again to look for Barb, but couldn't see her.

"Batgirl, what's your status?"

" _Sorry Jason, but I'm not losing my future to Slade tonight!_ "

"Barbara, no!" He stopped dead, checking her position manually. She had purposely gone off course to give Dick back-up against Slade. For a short moment, he hated that she loved him, but got over it quickly with a sigh. "You're sure you can beat him together?"

" _Positive. I faced off against him in a Covert Op for the League._ " She confirmed. " _I know his newer weak points since I caused a few of them._ " With that in mind, Jason gave in.

"Do it, but stick to the plan." He said as he grappled to the meeting point, ith Cass not too far behind. "I've got a feeling Slade isn't the only obstacle for us tonight."

"You would be correct about that, Detective…" A cruel tone crawled down Jason's back. He knew who it belonged to and turned to see Ra's Al Ghul awaiting him, along with The Sensei, Lady Shiva and his loyal Servant Ubu. All were armed so his Master didn't have to be. As Cass landed beside Jason, he could feel her eyes lock onto her mother's with hatred. The Demon's Head smiled slyly. "Or perhaps, I should call you Assassin? After all, it is what we made you..."

Jason couldn't help but growl at this insult. Reminding him of his past life wasn't going to stop him from defeating Paladin before the night was out, but with Ra's on his side, that was trouble both he and Cass couldn't do alone. But perhaps there was something that could persuade him otherwise.

"Ra's, you know what he's doing tonight is wrong. Even you wouldn't stoop to his level by sacrificing your daughter." He tried to reason with him, though 'The Great One' just continued his pompous smile.

"I am aware of what I would and would not do, thank you very much." He answered. "But the Shadows have a contract to fulfil, even if it is no longer in our best interest to do so."

"And what is?" Cass answered. "Your word is the law to the men you're giving up, no? Why not order a retreat?"

"A true warrior never retreats from destiny," Shiva reminded her daughter. "You once knew and believed such things." Cass' stare remained cold her in return.

"Nevertheless, _Detective_ ," Ra's continued. "I believe I understand the point you were coming to and believe me when I say: we have it covered." He looked to Shiva. "Let them pass for now,"

"My Lord, I must protest-"

"It is fine, Sensei. The time will come when we will deal with them. But on our grounds. Besides," he paused and looked to Jason, who could see a type of rage that was rarely seen by anyone as he spoke again, "He killed my Grandson. Vengeance must be had."

Reluctantly, his guards stepped aside for Batman and Black Bat, who walked passed them still on edge and untrusting of them. They did not disobey their master's orders by chasing after them or calling out to warn any of Nazerath's men. But they did watch where they went as the two heroes left their eye-lines.

"I don't trust that," Cass whispered to him as Jason started tracking Rosa's location. "If he knows about us he'll know about Nightwing and Batgirl too from Slade."

"Nobody would. Ra's is using us for pawns." He replied, focused on the task.

"Then why didn't we stop them there?"

"This won't be his game. I'm counting on it." Cass stifled a full-on laugh.

"You're talking like Jak,"

"Really? I've forgotten how he talks since he doesn't show up in the Cave." He scoffed at the mention of her friend. She didn't respond for a moment as they almost turned a corner into a patrol group, stepping back into the dark just in time to be missed. From there, the two gave a mutual look of an agreement to keep silent until necessary. The patrol that missed them were heavily armed, wearing jackets with a Bloody Penguin symbol on the back; remnants of Cobblepot's men still on loan to Paladin. They moved into another room and closed the door behind them to speak privately.

"Sage, you've got a scan of the building and those inside right?"

" _Yes, but can we talk about your plan with Ra's and-_ "

"No time." He bluntly interrupted. "Is Cobblepot in there, at all?" He could hear Sage looking at the scans in the background frantically.

" _...No, Why?_ "

"That patrol that almost caught us is his, still on loan. That's the only protection Paladin has."

" _Plus his sons._ _As well as the Shadows?_ "

"Not if Ra's breaks his deal with him and tells them to stop before the ritual." Cass clued in on Jason's point. Sage got it too.

" _I'll pass the word to The Outsiders._ "

"What's their status?" the Batcomputer on its own, Batwoman's point of view suddenly popping up on his HUD, showing her and Catwoman working together to pull Firefly down to the ground, his flamethrower seemingly jammed and his back heavily damaged. A second POV of Huntress showed her fighting Deadshot in hand-to-hand combat, while Question was in the background having just beaten Cheshire with the help of… Jason smiled as he focused on a Red Net-Arrow interrupting Huntress and Cheshire's fight, as Roy Harper, also known as Arsenal came into the fray. He closed his HUD knowing they'd be fine and execute the orders without concern. He looked back to Cass, who looked ready to keep moving and followed her out.

* * *

20:45

The Eclipse was early. Paladin could see the red begin to slowly creep in from the West side of the Satellite and frowned. Not only was the Bat and his allies here, but they had gotten through the Shadow's defences outside of the lair and were now fighting a war with the few men he had left on loan from Cobblepot. Plus, he had just received word from César that Luca had been knocked unconscious, and replaced Rosa's spot in her cage - with her gone. Since it was his fault for losing her, Luca had been woken up, berated by Jesús, and then given a small squadron along with his brothers to find his sister.

"You have fifteen minutes before the Eclipse truly begins, and I don't need to remind you of my back-up plan if Rosa cannot be found, do I, Luca?" Said Paladin at the time, the middle child avoiding direct eye-contact out of fear.

"...No, Father. We… I will redeem myself and find her before the Ritual begins. I promise." He had replied. Jesús didn't show it at the time, but the fact that he allowed Rosa to escape so easily because of a basic manipulation showed how weak the boy's mind was. César used to be the same but proved himself with enough time, and Diego had potential - but Luca was looking more and more like dead weight. By his calculations, once the eclipse truly started at Nine PM, the Ritual would have to start - with or without her. Two sons were better than three if the third had a failure complex, after all. He checked the moon again. There were now ten minutes left until the Eclipse started. Nothing would stop him - nothing could. He was God's Chosen, he would be the next in line, is destiny would be…

"Ahem," Nazerath's inner monologue was interrupted by the cleared throat of The Great One. Paladin, reluctantly, turned to face him, granting the Elder with a short bow of respect. He nodded in return before speaking. "May we discuss the issues of the night?"

"Everything will proceed as planned, your grace," Jesús reflected without thinking what Al Ghul's question even meant. "The intruders could even replace some of your men for the ritual if you wished it."

"I do not." Said Ra's. "I am here to tell you that our partnership will be ending before the ritual can begin." Paladin's already angered eyes widened, outraged.

"Don't be foolish! The ritual and your plan for Gotham comes hand-in-hand. That was our arrangement! Where is the honour in retreating to your Temples in the East?" Nazerath stood proud against The Demon's Head, who didn't seem phased by his speech.

"When you first came to me, in my temples, and told me that you would attempt to use this ritual to ascend, I said I had heard of it before. That was not the whole of the truth; in reality, I knew more about it than you did. Mainly because in my long life, I have seen it attempted… And failed before my own eyes."

"Liar!" Paladin's fists were balled, he looked ready to grip the handle of his sword. Still, Ra's remained calm.

"I am many things, but a liar is not one of them." He condescended Paladin, weary of the position he was at.

"It was a long time ago," He continued to explain, without Nazerath's permission. "when I had just discovered the existence of the Lazarus Pit. There were others though. Others who sought Immortality and thought the path towards such a gift was with the sacrifice of a loved one. Curious to see if the world would ever give more than one way to the secret, I took a pilgrimage to see the ritual take place.

What I found were disappointment and pride. Disappointment in the fact I couldn't fill out my plan to manipulate the young Immortal to my own will, but pride in the fact that I could make sure that it would never happen as long as I lived.

I convinced those who tried it to destroy it and join me - which they did before either dying for me or attempting to betray me. Centuries passed. Then you came. You, filled with arrogance and ego - enough to convince yourself that you were destined by God because of some dream you had! I should have had your head cut off so your then deluded wife could examine herself. Be glad that she abandoned you because you showed your true, abusive colours too quickly."

Paladin, having enough of this speech, drew his sword to attack Ra's. Not only was his attack dodged by the Great One, but he was also disarmed easily and dropped to the ground.

"Save your strength," Ra's continued, standing above Paladin and holding his blade for him. "You have the Bat to deal with yet. And, if you defeat him by midnight, I might change my mind." Nazerath struggled to stand, failing to hide his fear of the Elder.

"The Bat… You saw him?" He asked. Al Ghul nodded, his smile smug as ever. "You're a traitor to your cause! A senile old fool who doesn't know what you want!"

"Do not assume to know my cause, Nazerath. You have put a hole in my plans when you first came to this City!" Ra's glared at Paladin. He was confused at the fire in Al Ghul's eyes. "My Grandson was killed in the Wayne Manor explosion. And that is why I came here. If Batman does not stop you, I will personally, _take your head._ "

Paladin tried to attack him again, unarmed. The Great One simply deflected and reposted it, sending him back to the floor, only to add to his embarrassment by dropping his sword along with it.

"Recover what remains of your pride, defeat the Bat like you said you would and face me. If you survive all three, then you will have my permission to ascend as an immortal the true way." He concluded, beginning to leave. "Fail, and you will descend to hell, where you belong."

The door slammed behind him as Ra's left. Jesús looked to the window outside and groaned at what he saw: The Lunar Eclipse had begun. He was running out of time.

* * *

21:15

They found Rosa hiding in an air vent; reunited quietly and shared notes of the evening so far. Jason was proud of the skills she had used, Cass especially proud of the fact she took out her brother. Still, they had to be cautious.

"Your Father has all the men e can patrolling looking for you," She explained, Rosa nodding knowingly. "The Outsiders are-"

"Keeping the rest of them busy? I know." Rosa finished for Cass, a cheeky smile emerging. Her mentors shared a look of confusion before she explained. "Sage tapped me into the network once I was able to get my message to him." They heard Tim give a quick, soft laugh at this.

" _Sending you backup equipment as requested Robin, along with the coordinates of the drop._ " He chimed in, back in serious mode. Jason smiled in the approval under his helmet at her preparation skills. " _I'll make a safe path for you to get it without being found._ "

"Roger, I'll go ASAP," Robin said, then looked back to the two of them. "I knew you would come, but I couldn't just wait for Paladin to treat me like a thing he can throw away to gain power."

"The mission is what the mission becomes," Batman nodded again. "You did well with what you could do. I'm just sorry we took so long to look for you." She shook it off.

"I knew you would come." She repeated, standing tall. "Because you're heroes."

"You will be too," Jason accepted the compliment with pride for her. She was the Robin he wanted to be, because of him. Bruce would have been proud too. "Now go. Once you're changed, contact GCPD. They have a role to play in this and they need a signal. You'll bring it to them."

Rosa understood, beginning to follow Sage's path for her to pick up her equipment. Her mentors followed her until she was safe and away, then kept moving to make sure they wouldn't be found. Once they found another quiet spot with little patrols, Cass suggested a status update from the teams, only to hear a...

 _ **SMASH!**_ A window from the room above them, along with the thudding of whoever caused it.

" _Uhh, don't mind that,_ " Came Nightwing's voice over their earpieces. A groan of whoever the victim could be heard from a short distance away.

"What was that?" Jason asked back.

" _Slade._ " Both Batgirl and Nightwing replied at the same time.

"Is he down?"

" _Should be for a while. Wait, did you hear it?_ "

"We're a floor below where he crashed in. Secure him and rendezvous with us ASAP. We're finishing this."

The group followed his orders and traded each other the new plan. Nightwing - ever the Big Brother - volunteered to keep watch for Robin and the GCPD to arrive, but Batman refused him. He needed everyone for the final part of his plan and made it clear when explaining it to all of them before they once again broke off separate groups. Everyone had their assignments, now it was showtime.

* * *

21:30

The Blood-Moon shone down on the empty platform where the sacrifice was to take place. Paladin stood there alone. His support was gone, his sons were still searching for Rosa and the intruders, and the League of Shadows had retreated on Ra's' orders. He was alone.

But not for long.

He heard Batman step up on the far opposite side of him, staring at him down the walkway to him. The Spaniard turned and smiled slyly at the Detective.

"Finally. We can finish this. The Eclipse will not leave us in vain." He drew his sword and stepped two paces forward, ready for his enemy to do the same. He did not.

"What is wrong, Batman? Afraid to face me after last time?"

Again, silence. His opponent stood his ground. Paladin growled at such arrogance.

"Don't be foolish in thinking you can scare by just standing there! I am God's Chosen! And I will prove it by slaying ALL who stand in my way!"

"It's over, Nazerath." The Bat finally responded, ignoring all he was preaching and seemingly getting to the point. "Surrender and go quietly and you'll be taken back to your own country for Prison." Nazerath proudly shook his head, pointing his sword at his unwilling opponent.

"You are all blind to see what's about to come! But if you think you can stop it, come at me with all you have! I am not as alone as I seem!" He was right. As he stopped speaking as if he knew this would happen, the one hundred Assassins for the League of Shadows Ra's Al Ghul had claimed to have called away, emerged; all armed with weapons, and yet didn't seem to be themselves.

"Al Ghul thought he could take my army away from me, but I'll show him! Attack my soldiers! In the name of your new Lord!" The faceless assassins obeyed without question and charged at Batman. Once the first of them was close enough though, he finally moved...

 _ **FLASH!**_

All at the same time, smoke bombs from down the walkway went off, covering the fight from Paladin. He was also caught in one somehow dropped on him, so all he could do was attempt to stay calm while watching all sides and prepare for an attack, while also listening to the fight taking place mere meters from him. What he could hear was not good, and he gripped the hilt of his sword tightly as a consequence. But before he could truly grasp his bearings, one of the men he sent to attack Batman come flying towards him, landing beside him with barely enough time to recover. Paladin sadistically grabbed him by the neck and threw him back into the slowly parting smoke, only for the man to be sidestepped by the Dark Knight; who came out of the smoke with a punch aimed at his head. Nazerath was unable to react in time to deflect it, but he immediately replied with his attack, swinging his blade at his chest.

Unlike their last fight when he had scratched the surface of his armour, this time the blade had done nothing! His whole costume was different. Gone were the multiple belts with pouches clustered together on his hips and thighs, changed to just the one simple climbing belt; the red Bat Symbol across his chest to his shoulders was replaced with the smaller Black Bat of old, though it was still widely spread. The one final new thing was present was the coat - not a cape, a coat that was cut in the same way the old Bat's cape was, but it was worn with sleeves, was easily removable and difficult to cut through.

That last point was proven rather quickly after Paladin tested it, with the sword again doing no damage. Again, Batman took the advantage without using the weapon he fought within their last fight. He landed three consecutive punches at weak points in Paladin's armour that only he - at least until now - knew about. And each time he swung at the Bat to hit back, they were avoided like nothing. But after the third punch and swing, he disappeared!

"Coward!" He called out around him, grasping his bearings. "Do you think a few punches will defeat my destiny? Show yourself again and I'll-" The thud of a shuriken-like object landed at his feet, sounding off three beeps before exploding with light and blinding him. He was stunned in place, blinded and losing patience and time.

 _Enough of these charades! Show him what your people have gifted you!_

In a fit of rage, he activated a switch on his right gauntlet and felt the consequences immediately. The Venom serum that he had once used to control the beat that was Bane entered his bloodstream - though this one was different. The side effects that once poisoned the minds of those that used the drug had been purified, with only the extreme strength remaining. And as he activated it, his vision and hearing cleared, happily surprising him with the noises of the gunfire and war cries of his sons. He returned the call as a wolf would to his pack. All his senses were enhanced, along with a new strength flowing through and he could hear the Bat returning to strike again, so he waited for it, and the gullible fool bought the bait.

Nazerath struck at his enemy twice as hard with his bare fists going straight for his chest, making him stumble and open for more. Taking the advantage, he swung his sword over and over, both hitting and seeming to do damage to the Bat's armour, while all he could do was move on his back foot and attempt to block the attacks. Righteous rage pumped through his blood, fueling with the power to put him down! The Venom reduced him back to his blood tongue as he screamed "¡LA INMORTALIDAD ES MINA!"

He didn't see his Daughter swing in and end his streak with a swift kick to his helmet!

Rosa - in her full Robin costume - landed next to Batman and stared down her Father with the intent of fighting with her Mentor. She could tell something was off about him before she attacked; the way he had the advantage over Batman seemed strange and unnatural. Almost feral, in the way he spoke - or screamed from what Rosa last heard from him. Whatever he'd done to himself, she - they - wouldn't let it last. She extended her Bo-Staff, Batman grabbed the hilt of his sword as the blade jumped out with it - and they charged at their shared enemy.

The battle was short for her. Even with the training she'd been given by her mentor, she couldn't keep up with Paladin, and the only thing her staff hit was his sword blocking the part where it was intended to reach. The damage was being done, however, as she could see that each time he blocked one of her attacks, he was too slow to deflect one of Batman's; and so decided to keep at it for as long as she could. And it went on like that for a good five minutes: Hit, deflect, dodge, repeat. Hit, deflect, dodge, repeat. Hit, deflect, dodge…

Eventually, she got hit back.

Her Father grabbed her Staff with his free hand and picked not just the weapon, but her up with it. He ignored Batman's attempts of stopping him, and, with a grim insane smile on his face, flung her off the platform they were fighting on. She was quick enough to cut her losses with the staff and grapple away from danger, but where she landed was no better. Her brothers, armed with the guns she heard earlier as she snuck back into the building were firing at The Outsiders. They were behind cover, but the three boys were slowly advancing on them. Robin was behind them though, and engaged with the remaining strength she had left.

That left Batman alone, with the enraged Paladin. And he just as angry as his opponent. The man who killed his Mentor, his Father. The man who attempted to plague Gotham with an addictive drug that would make them obey his will. And the man who abused his wife and daughter when they refused to commit to his insane cult-like plan. The Batman was angry. And as they continued the fight, he showed it. Whatever Nazerath had done to himself didn't matter, he was stronger and faster. Every attack with the greatsword Paladin wielded was parried and reflected with ease. His armour was beginning to fall apart with every hit he placed with _Damien_. He was analysing his fighting pattern and playing on the weaknesses of it, avoiding the large swings and picking him apart until, finally, he disarmed the sword from him entirely, and swept him to the floor, placing his boot on his chest so he couldn't stand.

"Yield, Jesús. You cannot win." Batman pointed the blade so it was inches away from Paladin's broken helmet. His eyes were wide with rage that he couldn't do anything with. Multiple police sirens could be heard, surrounding the building, as well as helicopters from above with searchlights. Batman could see Nazerath's brain working overtime to think of a way out of this. He couldn't hear the gunfire from his son's guns. His assassins were defeated. His destiny was in shatters.

"Go on then, assassin," He spat at Batman, feeling the Venom's effects begin to poison him. "Do it! Finish me! No one will know but us. Do what you have wanted to do since I destroyed your Master and his home!"

In his mask, Jason blinked. All of that rage he had just used to defeat him was telling him to obey his instincts. Do drive the blade he held up against his enemy through his neck and claim it was one of the masked assassins. But he knew it wouldn't be enough. He knew it was wrong. And it wasn't the way of the Batman.

"No," He said as he took the blade away from Nazerath's face, and collapsed the metal until it was just a hilt again. Nazerath stared at him in anger.

"No what?"

"No. I'm not a killer. I am Vengeance!" He kicked the helmet off of his face.  
"I am the Night!" He took his foot off of the broken armour.

"I am Batman!" He picked him up with both arms and all his strength, putting them face to face with each other.  
"And you'll be regretting your actions for the rest of your life while rotting in a cell!"

Nazerath's face was now emotionless like he didn't care what was done to him. He looked to his sword that lay on the ground one last time. Then back to the Bat, and smiled grimly.

"And you'll regret not killing me yourself!" He roared, headbutting his enemy's helmet with enough force to be let go of, only to lose balance on the landing and fall off the edge. All Batman could do was watch as gravity took hold of his heavy body and fell to the ground - back first. But even with the powerful thud he made once he landed, it wasn't over. Paladin's sword had been moved in the short chaos and not a moment after the landing occurred, did it decide to fall too.

It perfectly hit Nazerath in the stomach. Batman slowly lowered himself down to the ground level. All he could hear was the wheezing and groans of a dying man. Once he made himself known, the dying man laughed.

"No one... will believe you…" He barely whispered. "Even... with... that symbol… you're still… an… _asesino…"_

With those final words said, he coughed up the last bit of blood and died.

And somewhere in the City, as the Blood Moon started to fade away, a clock bell struck Ten.


	32. Epilogue

Chapter 32: Epilogue

Paladin's last words - like most of what he said - were wrong. The police officers who saw the dead body once they entered the building found the corpse and his three sons in the same space; the former where it lay and the latter tied up. Batman, Robin, Nightwing, Batgirl and the Outsiders all left the scene as soon as possible, though Batman did return to debrief Gordon on the context of the dead body of Paladin - which was understood.

The next month for Rosa and her mother were… difficult. For a short time, there was talk about them moving back to her hometown in Mexico with her parents so she could grieve with family, but Rosa didn't want that. She had made friends at her school, she had a great mentor that was willing to do cheaper classes if needed and Gotham as a whole had grown on her. Eventually, she managed to calm her Mother down enough to convince her that on the next school break, they would take a week's holiday off to go to Mexico. A compromise that worked well enough as they both needed a break.

César, Luca and Diego's trials all started that weekend they went away and finished shortly after they came back to Gotham. Rosa testified as to the last witness and the Jury agreed to put Luca and Diego in separate Juvenile prisons, while César would be sentenced to seventeen years of jail for the crimes of conspiracy, assistance to terrorism and child abuse. It was a unanimous decision from the Jury. Not many wept for them.

Over the next six months, crime in both Gotham and Bludhaven would go down thanks to Batman and his allies. Villains of old and new threatened the City but were stopped before damage was done. With Batwoman as leader of The Outsiders, they began the investigation into the Bowser Crime Family. Selina Kyle retired from her role as Catwoman to prepare for the secret child of Bruce Wayne. When she went into labour and the child was born, Jason was present and named her new son's Godfather should anything happen to her. She named the boy Terrance "Terry" Bruce Kyle.

Finally, the wedding between Dick and Barbara was a welcomed celebration not just for the Bat-family, but the whole community of the Justice League and friends, the majority of whom were invited. The ceremony with all the heroes was privately done with Superman as the officiator. Dick's best men, Jason, Tim and Wally West, did a team speech roasting him about escapades they had seen Dick do over the years. Jason mentioned a time when he was starting out as Nightwing in his ridiculous Disco-suit and how convoluted his justification for it was; Tim mentioned a memory of how when he was a kid, he saw one of his terrible flirtation attempts with Barb when he was Robin; and Wally had almost too many stories from when they were in the Titans together. It was a fun day. Both Jason and Cass got to talk to people they haven't seen in years - like Arsenal, Supergirl and Starfire - ending with Tim reintroducing everyone to Stephanie Brown, who he'd been seeing in secret when he wasn't working. Later on, in the same month, they had a more public - and official - wedding in Gotham itself, where Commissioner Gordan cried during his opening speech.

Again, it was a fun night, but Jason spotted that Cass had invited Jak as her plus-one, and later he saw them sneak away. It didn't bother him that they were getting along again, but he felt like something was off about Jak…

Something for him to privately, he gathered.

Eventually, that night, he, Dick and Barb did the same. The Bat-Signal, inevitably lit up Gotham's night. So Batman and his family responded.

* * *

 _And that's it! Part one to this Saga is finished! I will absolutely return to this AU, but I need a couple of weeks to break off to collect my thoughts and start plotting the second arc ahead of schedule. I want to thank everyone who has followed, favourited and reviewed this Fic. When I started it, I didn't think it would go anywhere and I would fall off my schedule after three chapters. But I want to continue it, and I hope you guys join me for it. Look forward to Arc Two in about a month's time._

 _Thanks again for everything,_

 _Chewbaxter._


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